Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 612,988 Shares of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. $BLMN

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly lowered its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 86% in the first quarter, owning now 99,526 shares worth approximately $714,000.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings on Bloomin' Brands, with a consensus average rating of "Reduce" and a target price of $9.88, reflecting a decline in expectations for the company's stock.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, yielding 8.2%, despite a negative dividend payout ratio of -1,200.00%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Free Report) by 86.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,526 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 612,988 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.12% of Bloomin' Brands worth $714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BLMN. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,304 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Bloomin' Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. State of Wyoming lifted its position in Bloomin' Brands by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,319 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 5,146 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 505.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,239 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 5,209 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 25,805 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 5,553 shares in the last quarter.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BLMN traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $7.21. 1,798,404 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,865,952. The firm has a market capitalization of $613.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -144.20 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. Bloomin' Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.09 and a 12 month high of $17.78.

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.05. Bloomin' Brands had a positive return on equity of 44.03% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.The company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bloomin' Brands, Inc. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin' Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Bloomin' Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BLMN shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Bloomin' Brands from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $8.00 to $6.50 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $9.88.

Bloomin' Brands 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.