Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Short Interest Up 8.5% in January

Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,550,000 shares, an increase of 8.5% from the January 15th total of 10,650,000 shares. Approximately 13.9% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.1 days.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLMN traded down $0.20 on Thursday, hitting $12.01. 1,572,030 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,718,931. The company's 50 day moving average price is $12.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.47. Bloomin' Brands has a one year low of $10.85 and a one year high of $30.13. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -109.13 and a beta of 1.97.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 34.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,381,150 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $22,830,000 after buying an additional 356,456 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 29.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,080 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,621,000 after buying an additional 49,723 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 58.3% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 691,585 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $11,432,000 after buying an additional 254,570 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 6.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,529,130 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,806,000 after buying an additional 147,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 6.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,255,059 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $20,746,000 after buying an additional 70,925 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLMN has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James lowered shares of Bloomin' Brands from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Bloomin' Brands in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "sell" rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $13.00 target price (down previously from $19.00) on shares of Bloomin' Brands in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.30.

Bloomin' Brands Company 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.