17,300 Shares in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,300 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 606.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,890 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 4,198 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands in the 4th quarter worth $140,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 63,457.9% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 12,076 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 12,057 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $152,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 527,533.3% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 15,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 15,826 shares during the period.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

Bloomin’ Brands stock opened at $6.44 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.53. 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 company has a market cap of $546.96 million, a PE ratio of -58.54 and a beta of 1.76. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.12 and a twelve month high of $27.56.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.32%. Bloomin’ Brands’s payout ratio is currently -40.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLMN. Barclays set a $11.00 target price on Bloomin’ Brands and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bloomin’ Brands

In other news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total transaction of $79,497.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Bloomin’ Brands 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.