Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Shares Down 4.2% - Here's Why

Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) was down 4.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $7.91 and last traded at $7.92. Approximately 25,540 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 99% from the average daily volume of 1,948,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BLMN. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Bloomin' Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.30.

Bloomin' Brands Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $669.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -71.68 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.53.

Bloomin' Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.61%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Bloomin' Brands's dividend payout ratio is -40.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bloomin' Brands

In other news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of Bloomin' Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLMN. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Bloomin' Brands by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,080 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,621,000 after acquiring an additional 49,723 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Bloomin' Brands by 2.9% during the third 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Bloomin' Brands by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,529,130 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $41,806,000 after acquiring an additional 147,895 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Bloomin' Brands by 606.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,890 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 4,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Bloomin' Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $286,000.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.