JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Stock

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $9.00 to $10.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would suggest a potential upside of 13.57% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Bloomin' Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Bloomin' Brands from $13.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Bloomin' Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bloomin' Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.85.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Bloomin' Brands stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 474,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,135,867. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.67. 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 has a 1-year low of $6.09 and a 1-year high of $21.45. The company has a market cap of $747.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -292.40 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin' Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLMN. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Bloomin' Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $933,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in Bloomin' Brands in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 4.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,048,497 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $7,518,000 after acquiring an additional 43,329 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands during the first quarter worth $601,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 123.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,299,778 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $16,489,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268,988 shares in the last quarter.

About Bloomin' Brands

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.

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