UBS Group Cuts Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Price Target to $8.50

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $13.00 to $8.50 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. UBS Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.28% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on BLMN. StockNews.com upgraded Bloomin' Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America lowered shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities 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 company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.75.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Performance

Shares of BLMN traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $7.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 743,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,993,457. Bloomin' Brands has a one year low of $6.09 and a one year high of $24.50. The stock's 50-day moving average is $7.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $620.85 million, a PE ratio of -66.45 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.05 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bloomin' Brands will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of Bloomin' Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total value of $79,497.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin' Brands

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLMN. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 8,666.6% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,568,253 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $19,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550,364 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 565.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,791,366 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $21,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,370 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Bloomin' Brands by 385.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,817,145 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $22,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442,964 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 483.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,225,608 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $14,965,000 after buying an additional 1,015,372 shares during the period. Finally, Fund 1 Investments LLC bought a new position in Bloomin' Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $7,839,000.

Bloomin' Brands Company Profile

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.