Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Rating Increased to Hold 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 report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America cut Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Bloomin’ Brands in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “sell” rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (down from $19.00) on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.30.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

BLMN opened at $12.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -114.17 and a beta of 1.97. Bloomin’ Brands has a 1 year low of $11.03 and a 1 year high of $30.13.

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 for 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 business’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Bloomin’ Brands will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 8.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,007 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000.

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.