Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Hits New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $13.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Bloomin’ Brands traded as low as $11.24 and last traded at $11.42, with a volume of 129665 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.87.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down previously from $19.00) on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bloomin’ Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,381,150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,830,000 after purchasing an additional 356,456 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,492,119 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,923,000 after acquiring an additional 569,855 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,080 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,621,000 after acquiring an additional 49,723 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 691,585 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,432,000 after acquiring an additional 254,570 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake 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.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Down 3.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $976.54 million, a PE ratio of -104.63 and a beta of 1.97. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.04.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Bloomin’ Brands had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 62.18%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin’ Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.34%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -872.73%.

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.