Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Short Interest Up 9.4% in November

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,250,000 shares, a growth of 9.4% from the October 31st total of 7,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days. Currently, 9.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin’ Brands

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 27,857 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 8.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 8.5% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,204 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 2.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,007 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the period.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Down 3.1 %

BLMN traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.94. 425,548 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,524,324. Bloomin’ Brands has a one year low of $12.26 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $15.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.48.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.02. Bloomin’ Brands had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 62.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Bloomin’ Brands will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -872.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James cut Bloomin’ Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bloomin’ Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.70.

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.