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 report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Bloomin' Brands from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Bloomin' Brands from $26.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.80.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLMN traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.99. 3,938,389 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,464,348. The company's 50 day moving average price is $16.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.99. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 60.50 and a beta of 2.04. Bloomin' Brands has a 52 week low of $15.14 and a 52 week high of $30.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Bloomin' Brands had a return on equity of 61.90% and a net margin of 0.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Bloomin' Brands will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin' Brands

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Bloomin' Brands by 0.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,553,719 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $49,105,000 after acquiring an additional 16,878 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bloomin' Brands by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,529,130 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $41,806,000 after purchasing an additional 147,895 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Bloomin' Brands by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,492,119 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $47,923,000 after purchasing an additional 569,855 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new stake in Bloomin' Brands in the second quarter worth about $28,672,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 3.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,125,008 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $32,267,000 after buying an additional 41,128 shares during the period.

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.