Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 69,557 Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 69,557 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $849,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.08% of Bloomin' Brands at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 565.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,791,366 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $21,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,370 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,024,543 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $12,510,000 after buying an additional 295,641 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,882,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 86.0% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 381,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,655,000 after acquiring an additional 176,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xcel Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 422,114 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $5,154,000 after acquiring an additional 174,036 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLMN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America cut shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.50.

Bloomin' Brands Trading Up 3.0 %

Bloomin' Brands stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $7.74. 255,926 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,916,160. The stock has a market capitalization of $656.94 million, a PE ratio of -70.16 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.01. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.09 and a 52 week high of $27.33.

Bloomin' Brands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.76%. Bloomin' Brands's dividend payout ratio is -40.27%.

Insider Activity

In other Bloomin' Brands news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of Bloomin' Brands stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total transaction of $79,497.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.