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

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. Approximately 9.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLMN has been the topic of several research reports. 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 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 on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target 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, Raymond James lowered shares of Bloomin’ Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.70.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $111,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $169,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $230,000.

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 current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.33 and its 200 day simple moving average 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bloomin’ Brands will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.42%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is -872.65%.

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.