Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Short Interest Update

Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,720,000 shares, an increase of 13.0% from the December 31st total of 7,720,000 shares. Currently, 10.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Bloomin' Brands in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "sell" rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James cut shares of Bloomin' Brands from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America lowered shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (down previously from $19.00) on shares of Bloomin' Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.30.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin' Brands

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BLMN. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Bloomin' Brands during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 79.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,371 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Bloomin' Brands by 606.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,890 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 4,198 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Bloomin' Brands in the second quarter valued at about $111,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Bloomin' Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $140,000.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLMN traded down $0.28 on Friday, reaching $12.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,532,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,612,391. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Bloomin' Brands has a 52-week low of $11.03 and a 52-week high of $30.13. The stock's 50-day moving average is $12.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -110.72 and a beta of 1.97.

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Bloomin' Brands had a positive return on equity of 62.18% and a negative net margin of 0.12%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bloomin' Brands will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Bloomin' Brands Company Profile

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.