Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Bloomin’ Brands in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “sell” rating and a $13.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James cut Bloomin’ Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $13.00 price objective (down from $19.00) on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bloomin’ Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.90.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

Shares of BLMN stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.33. 1,165,686 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,756,759. Bloomin’ Brands has a 52 week low of $11.03 and a 52 week high of $30.13. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -112.08 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.42 and its 200-day moving average is $15.38.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.02. Bloomin’ Brands had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 62.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bloomin’ Brands will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin’ Brands

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,325,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 2,520.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 468,507 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,009,000 after buying an additional 450,630 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,381,150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,830,000 after acquiring an additional 356,456 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 691,585 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,432,000 after acquiring an additional 254,570 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 76.5% during the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 544,742 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,475,000 after acquiring an additional 236,037 shares in the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Company 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.