Towle & Co. Has $1.72 Million Stake in Bloomin' Brands, Inc. $BLMN

Key Points

• Towle & Co. sharply cut its Bloomin' Brands stake in the first quarter, selling 999,915 shares and reducing its position by 75.9% to 317,861 shares valued at about $1.72 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with the stock carrying a consensus “Reduce” rating; several firms kept hold/neutral views, while JPMorgan downgraded it to underweight. The average price target is $8.62.
• Bloomin' Brands beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.67 EPS on revenue of $1.06 billion, both above estimates, and it issued FY2026 EPS guidance of $0.75 to $0.90.

Towle & Co. lowered its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Free Report) by 75.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 317,861 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 999,915 shares during the period. Towle & Co. owned 0.37% of Bloomin' Brands worth $1,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLMN. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 83,825.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,357 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,353 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in Bloomin' Brands during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,431 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,221 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 2,099 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BLMN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $6.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $6.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $9.00 price target on shares of Bloomin' Brands in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $8.62.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Performance

BLMN opened at $8.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $701.15 million, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.72 and a beta of 1.21. Bloomin' Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.19 and a 52-week high of $10.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.26. The business's fifty day moving average is $8.12 and its 200-day moving average is $7.05.

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. Bloomin' Brands had a return on equity of 28.00% and a net margin of 0.55%.The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Bloomin' Brands's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Bloomin' Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.270-0.320 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Bloomin' Brands, Inc. will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Bloomin' Brands

Bloomin' Brands, Inc engages in the ownership, operation and franchising of casual dining restaurants worldwide. The company's portfolio includes five full-service restaurant chains: Outback Steakhouse, known for its Australian-inspired steakhouse concept; Carrabba's Italian Grill, offering Italian-American cuisine; Bonefish Grill, specializing in handcrafted seafood dishes; Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, focusing on premium steak and wine experiences; and Aussie Grill by Outback, featuring a streamlined menu of signature items.

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