Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Shares Up 4.7% - Here's What Happened

Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 4.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $8.14 and last traded at $8.30. 136,120 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 1,767,295 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLMN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America cut Bloomin' Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bloomin' Brands has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.50.

Bloomin' Brands Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $608.96 million, a PE ratio of -65.18 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock's 50-day moving average is $10.44 and its 200 day moving average is $12.94.

Bloomin' Brands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.37%. Bloomin' Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -40.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bloomin' Brands news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total transaction of $79,497.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin' Brands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLMN. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Bloomin' Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,519,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Bloomin' Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,552,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 160.9% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 401,697 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,905,000 after purchasing an additional 247,702 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 99.5% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,319 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 5,146 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.