Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Price Target Cut to $26.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) had its price objective trimmed by UBS Group from $30.00 to $26.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on BLMN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Bloomin’ Brands from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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 target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $27.50.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

BLMN opened at $23.89 on Wednesday. Bloomin’ Brands 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. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a P/E/G ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 2.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.18.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.05). Bloomin’ Brands had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 73.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bloomin’ Brands will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.94%.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin’ Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 364.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 494,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,156,000 after buying an additional 387,896 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the fourth quarter worth $8,313,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the fourth quarter worth $7,452,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 1,763.3% in the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 218,496 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,151,000 after purchasing an additional 206,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,527,385 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $308,048,000 after purchasing an additional 175,493 shares during the period.

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.