Brokerages Set Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Target Price at $14.60

Shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and nine have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.50.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Insider Transactions at Bloomin’ Brands

In related news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total value of $79,497.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BLMN. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,381,150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,830,000 after purchasing an additional 356,456 shares during the period. A&I Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $343,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 29.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,080 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,621,000 after acquiring an additional 49,723 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 58.3% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 691,585 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,432,000 after acquiring an additional 254,570 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,414,415 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,270,000 after purchasing an additional 159,356 shares in the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

Shares of BLMN opened at $8.43 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $10.73 and its 200-day moving average is $13.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $715.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.63 and a beta of 2.04. Bloomin’ Brands has a fifty-two week low of $7.72 and a fifty-two week high of $29.10.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.12%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -40.27%.

About Bloomin’ Brands

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.