43,400 Shares in Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Bought by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 43,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,222,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Bloomin' Brands by 54.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,460 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Bloomin' Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,984,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Bloomin' Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Bloomin' Brands by 4.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 520,451 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $12,798,000 after buying an additional 20,549 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 14.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 171,793 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,224,000 after acquiring an additional 21,462 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLMN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bloomin' Brands currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.90.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLMN traded up $0.49 on Tuesday, hitting $27.30. 1,020,498 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,297,226. Bloomin' Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.03 and a 1-year high of $30.13. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $27.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 2.00.

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

Bloomin' Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Bloomin' Brands's payout ratio is 37.94%.

About Bloomin' Brands

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.