Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to "Hold" Rating

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

BLMN has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America cut Bloomin' Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Raymond James lowered Bloomin' Brands from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $13.00 price target (down from $19.00) on shares of Bloomin' Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.30.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Down 2.6 %

BLMN traded down $0.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.56. 1,682,925 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,542,880. Bloomin' Brands has a fifty-two week low of $11.03 and a fifty-two week high of $30.13. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -114.17 and a beta of 1.97. The business's 50 day moving average is $12.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46.

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Bloomin' Brands had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 62.18%. The firm's revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bloomin' Brands will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin' Brands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLMN. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bloomin' Brands by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,529,130 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,806,000 after acquiring an additional 147,895 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Bloomin' Brands during the third quarter worth about $41,325,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 4.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,411,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $23,327,000 after purchasing an additional 59,418 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 34.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Bloomin' Brands by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,255,059 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $20,746,000 after buying an additional 70,925 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.