Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America downgraded 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James cut Bloomin' Brands from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays set a $11.00 price target on Bloomin' Brands and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.60.

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Bloomin' Brands Trading Up 6.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BLMN traded up $0.56 on Friday, hitting $9.35. The company had a trading volume of 3,548,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,698,661. Bloomin' Brands has a 1 year low of $8.00 and a 1 year high of $29.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $11.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $794.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.99 and a beta of 2.04.

Bloomin' Brands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.42%. Bloomin' Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently -40.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin' Brands

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BLMN. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 6.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,529,130 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,806,000 after purchasing an additional 147,895 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Bloomin' Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,325,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Bloomin' Brands by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,390,703 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,190,000 after buying an additional 10,635 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 385.6% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,817,145 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $22,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,442,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 565.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,791,366 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $21,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,370 shares during the period.

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.