Short Interest in Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Declines By 6.5%

Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,540,000 shares, a decline of 6.5% from the October 15th total of 8,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,510,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days. Currently, 9.1% of the company's stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLMN. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Bloomin' Brands during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 79.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,371 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 6,454.9% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 3,292 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Bloomin' Brands in the second quarter valued at about $111,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Bloomin' Brands during the second quarter worth about $169,000.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Down 4.0 %

NASDAQ BLMN traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $12.67. 1,942,898 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,519,703. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -120.91 and a beta of 2.04. The company's 50-day moving average is $16.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.31. Bloomin' Brands has a one year low of $12.58 and a one year high of $30.13.

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) last announced 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 positive return on equity of 62.18% and a negative net margin of 0.12%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Bloomin' Brands will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin' Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. Bloomin' Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -872.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BLMN shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target 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. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bloomin' Brands has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.70.

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.