Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Trading Down 4.6%

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) was down 4.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $17.33 and last traded at $17.35. Approximately 515,364 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 1,492,669 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLMN. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.44 and a 200-day moving average of $23.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41 and a beta of 2.04.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.07). Bloomin’ Brands had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 65.73%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.42%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 150.00%.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin’ Brands

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 52.7% in the second quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 20,815 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 7,188 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 76.5% during the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 544,742 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,475,000 after purchasing an additional 236,037 shares during the period. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 51.1% during the second quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 22,841 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 7,728 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC lifted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 29.0% during the second quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 14,410 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 3,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the second quarter valued at $1,923,000.

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.