Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Trading 12.4% Higher - Here's Why

Shares of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) traded up 12.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $9.66 and last traded at $9.68. 497,020 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 2,145,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BLMN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Bloomin' Brands from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on Bloomin' Brands from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bloomin' Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $13.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.85.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.34 and a 200-day moving average of $9.52. The company has a market cap of $870.96 million, a P/E ratio of -341.72 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Bloomin' Brands had a positive return on equity of 55.08% and a negative net margin of 0.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bloomin' Brands, Inc. will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin' Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. Bloomin' Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2,000.00%.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin' Brands

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,414,415 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $17,270,000 after acquiring an additional 159,356 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,390,703 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $29,190,000 after acquiring an additional 10,635 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Bloomin' Brands during the 4th quarter worth $2,882,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 63,457.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 12,076 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 12,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 639,481 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $7,808,000 after buying an additional 130,793 shares in the last quarter.

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.