Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.33.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BLMN opened at $16.52 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $17.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81 and a beta of 2.04. Bloomin’ Brands has a 12-month low of $15.20 and a 12-month high of $30.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46.

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). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Bloomin’ Brands had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 61.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Bloomin’ Brands will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $2,042,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 295,261 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,468,000 after purchasing an additional 64,006 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 219.2% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 165,705 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,187,000 after purchasing an additional 113,798 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $4,222,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $47,923,000 after purchasing an additional 569,855 shares during the period.

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.