Rhumbline Advisers Boosts Stake in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 238,093 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,977 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.28% of Bloomin’ Brands worth $2,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BLMN. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 6.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the third quarter worth about $41,325,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 4.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,411,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $23,327,000 after purchasing an additional 59,418 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 34.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,381,150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,830,000 after buying an additional 356,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,255,059 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,746,000 after buying an additional 70,925 shares during the period.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

NASDAQ:BLMN opened at $9.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $795.83 million, a PE ratio of -85.26 and a beta of 1.97. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.16 and a 52 week high of $30.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.23.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -40.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James downgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America cut Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.00.

About Bloomin’ Brands

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc engages in the acquisition, operation, design, and development of restaurant concepts. It operates through the U.S. and International geographical segments. The U.S. segment operates in the USA and Puerto Rico. The International segment operates in Brazil, South Korea, Hong Kong, and China.