Bloomin’ Brands Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 36,783 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 5,431% compared to the typical volume of 665 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLMN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 219.2% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 165,705 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,187,000 after buying an additional 113,798 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,492,119 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,923,000 after purchasing an additional 569,855 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $563,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $711,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $1,285,000.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BLMN opened at $15.15 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.42 and its 200-day moving average is $18.88. Bloomin’ Brands has a 52-week low of $14.72 and a 52-week high of $30.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.27 and a beta of 2.04.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.07). Bloomin’ Brands had a return on equity of 61.90% and a net margin of 0.70%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bloomin’ Brands will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

About Bloomin’ Brands

Bloomin' Brands, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates casual, upscale casual, and fine dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, U.S. and International. Its restaurant portfolio has four concepts, including Outback Steakhouse, a casual steakhouse restaurant; Carrabba's Italian Grill, a casual Italian restaurant; Bonefish Grill; and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, a contemporary steakhouse.