Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $7.75 and last traded at $8.15, with a volume of 260839 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BLMN shares. Bank of America lowered shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays set a $11.00 price objective on Bloomin’ Brands and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.60.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.93 and its 200-day moving average is $13.40. The company has a market cap of $674.35 million, a PE ratio of -72.18 and a beta of 2.04.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is -40.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bloomin’ Brands news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of Bloomin’ Brands 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLMN. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,529,130 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,806,000 after purchasing an additional 147,895 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,325,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,390,703 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,190,000 after buying an additional 10,635 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 385.6% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,817,145 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $22,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,442,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 565.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,791,366 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,370 shares during the period.

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.