Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Shares Gap Down to $24.96

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $24.96, but opened at $24.16. Bloomin’ Brands shares last traded at $23.85, with a volume of 199,759 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 2.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.19.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Bloomin’ Brands had a return on equity of 73.67% and a net margin of 5.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Research analysts predict that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BLMN. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 364.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 494,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,156,000 after acquiring an additional 387,896 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $8,313,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $7,452,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 1,763.3% in the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 218,496 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,151,000 after purchasing an additional 206,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,527,385 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $308,048,000 after purchasing an additional 175,493 shares during 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.