American Century Companies Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 65.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 204,507 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 390,945 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.24% of Bloomin’ Brands worth $5,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BLMN. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,202 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 5,960 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 13,216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al purchased a new position in Bloomin’ Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,071,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 43,290 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 8,149 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 141,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,477,000 after buying an additional 8,198 shares during the period.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Bloomin’ Brands stock opened at $28.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.38 and its 200 day moving average is $25.69. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.03 and a 1 year high of $30.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

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

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.