Royce & Associates LP Buys 130,793 Shares of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Free Report) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 639,481 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 130,793 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.75% of Bloomin' Brands worth $7,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Bloomin' Brands by 79.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,371 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,411,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $23,327,000 after buying an additional 59,418 shares during the period. Factorial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 67.1% during the third quarter. Factorial Partners LLC now owns 60,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 24,100 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 176.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 167,495 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,769,000 after buying an additional 106,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Bloomin' Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $339,000.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Down 3.8 %

BLMN traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $7.78. The company had a trading volume of 3,620,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,757,695. The company has a market capitalization of $660.76 million, a PE ratio of -70.72 and a beta of 2.04. 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 one year low of $7.72 and a one year high of $29.10. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $10.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.29.

Bloomin' Brands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. 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 7.71%. Bloomin' Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -40.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America downgraded Bloomin' Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays set a $11.00 target price on Bloomin' Brands and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bloomin' Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.50.

Bloomin' Brands Profile

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.