River Global Investors LLP Reduces Holdings in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

River Global Investors LLP trimmed its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,561 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 399 shares during the quarter. River Global Investors LLP owned 0.05% of Bloomin’ Brands worth $1,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BLMN. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 4.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 520,451 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,798,000 after buying an additional 20,549 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 14.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 171,793 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,224,000 after purchasing an additional 21,462 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 4.7% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 94,285 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,318,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 4.8% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,250 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 16.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,491 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BLMN shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Bloomin’ Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.90.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Up 2.1 %

Bloomin’ Brands stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $25.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,434,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,298,144. The company has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.18. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.03 and a 52 week high of $30.13.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Bloomin’ Brands had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 73.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Bloomin’ Brands’s payout ratio is 37.94%.

Bloomin’ Brands 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.