Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Trading Down 6.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) shares dropped 6.5% during trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $13.00 to $10.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Bloomin’ Brands traded as low as $8.55 and last traded at $8.60. Approximately 1,439,741 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 1,698,080 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.20.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on BLMN. UBS Group lowered their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America cut Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James cut Bloomin’ Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bloomin’ Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.60.

Insider Activity

In other Bloomin’ Brands news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total transaction of $79,497.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 34.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,381,150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,830,000 after buying an additional 356,456 shares during the last quarter. A&I Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $343,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,080 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 49,723 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 58.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 691,585 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,432,000 after purchasing an additional 254,570 shares during the period. Finally, Skylands Capital LLC purchased a new position in Bloomin’ Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $1,407,000.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Up 6.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.72. The firm has a market cap of $783.91 million, a P/E ratio of -83.90 and a beta of 2.04.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.50%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -40.27%.

Bloomin’ Brands Company Profile

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc engages in the acquisition, operation, design, and development of restaurant concepts. It operates through the U.S. and International geographical segments. The U.S. segment operates in the USA and Puerto Rico. The International segment operates in Brazil, South Korea, Hong Kong, and China.