Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $11.03 and last traded at $11.22, with a volume of 1679242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on BLMN shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down previously from $19.00) on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James cut Bloomin’ Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Bloomin’ Brands in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “sell” rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.90.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $995.21 million, a PE ratio of -106.63 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Bloomin’ Brands had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 62.18%. The company’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.18%. Bloomin’ Brands’s payout ratio is currently -872.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLMN. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 79.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 606.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,890 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 4,198 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the second quarter worth about $111,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the second quarter worth about $169,000.

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.