Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.33.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BLMN opened at $16.78 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.54 and a beta of 2.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $16.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.96. Bloomin’ Brands has a 12-month low of $15.14 and a 12-month high of $30.13.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last released its 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 return on equity of 61.90% and a net margin of 0.70%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Bloomin’ Brands’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Bloomin’ Brands will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin’ Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,672,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 569,855 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 2,520.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 468,507 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,009,000 after acquiring an additional 450,630 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position 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 worth $10,475,000 after acquiring an additional 236,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 6.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,529,130 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,806,000 after acquiring an additional 147,895 shares in the last quarter.

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.