Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $9.00 to $10.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential upside of 6.50% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on BLMN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.65.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Performance

Shares of BLMN traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $9.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,987,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,177,986. The company has a market cap of $797.49 million, a PE ratio of -312.90 and a beta of 1.32. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $8.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.39. 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 fifty-two week low of $6.09 and a fifty-two week high of $21.45.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during 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%. The business's revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Bloomin' Brands will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin' Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLMN. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 123.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,299,778 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $16,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268,988 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 385.6% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,817,145 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $22,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442,964 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 565.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,791,366 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $21,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,370 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,649,084 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $20,135,000 after purchasing an additional 18,525 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 12.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,596,638 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $11,448,000 after purchasing an additional 182,223 shares during the period.

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.