Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Shares of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.50.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut Bloomin' Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. Barclays set a $11.00 target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ BLMN traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $7.58. The company had a trading volume of 144,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,915,692. The company's fifty day moving average is $8.87 and its 200-day moving average is $12.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $643.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.04 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.31. Bloomin' Brands has a 1-year low of $6.09 and a 1-year high of $27.33.

Bloomin' Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Bloomin' Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -40.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the firm'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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin' Brands

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLMN. A&I Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Bloomin' Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $343,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 29.4% in 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 during the period. 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 during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Bloomin' Brands by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 381,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,655,000 after acquiring an additional 176,240 shares during the period. Finally, Skylands Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Bloomin' Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,407,000.

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.