Arizona State Retirement System Lowers Stake in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,913 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,942 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Bloomin’ Brands were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 106,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,858,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 9,030 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 31.9% in the 4th 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. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,250 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,339 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

BLMN opened at $27.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.03 and a 52-week high of $30.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.92. The company has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 2.00.

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

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Citigroup lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.