Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $41.81 Million Stock Holdings in Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Free Report) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,529,130 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 147,895 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 2.92% of Bloomin' Brands worth $41,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BLMN. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bloomin' Brands by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 15,521 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 2,289 shares during the last quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 248,078 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,101,000 after purchasing an additional 40,225 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $111,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $351,000.

Bloomin' Brands Price Performance

Shares of BLMN stock traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $13.76. 4,368,330 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,498,664. Bloomin' Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.63 and a twelve month high of $30.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -124.44 and a beta of 2.04. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $16.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.02. Bloomin' Brands had a return on equity of 61.90% and a net margin of 0.70%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bloomin' Brands, Inc. will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Bloomin' Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. Bloomin' Brands's payout ratio is -872.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLMN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays cut their price target on Bloomin' Brands from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Bank of America cut their price target on Bloomin' Brands from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Bloomin' Brands from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Bloomin' Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Bloomin' Brands from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.70.

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.