Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Free Report) by 100.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 329,225 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 164,656 shares during the period. Bloomin' Brands makes up approximately 0.6% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned 0.38% of Bloomin' Brands worth $9,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands during the third quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 683.2% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Bloomin' Brands by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,303 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BLMN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Bloomin' Brands from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Raymond James upped their target price on Bloomin' Brands from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Bloomin' Brands from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Bloomin' Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.90.

Bloomin' Brands Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ BLMN traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.04. 1,742,650 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,303,876. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.34. Bloomin' Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.03 and a 52-week high of $30.13. The company's 50-day moving average is $27.73 and its 200-day moving average is $25.92.

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. Bloomin' Brands had a return on equity of 73.67% and a net margin of 5.30%. The company's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Analysts expect that Bloomin' Brands, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin' Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. Bloomin' Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.94%.

Bloomin' Brands Profile

Bloomin' Brands, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates casual, upscale casual, and fine dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, U.S. and International. Its restaurant portfolio has four concepts, including Outback Steakhouse, a casual steakhouse restaurant; Carrabba's Italian Grill, a casual Italian restaurant; Bonefish Grill; and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, a contemporary steakhouse.