Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Shares Up 9.2% – Still a Buy?

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)’s stock price was up 9.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $6.85 and last traded at $6.9570. Approximately 202,387 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 2,517,505 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $9.07.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Up 8.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.86. The firm has a market cap of $590.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -138.50 and a beta of 1.26.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $928.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $905.59 million. Bloomin’ Brands had a positive return on equity of 44.03% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. Bloomin’ Brands has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.100-1.150 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.230-0.280 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eric C. Christel bought 150,000 shares of Bloomin’ Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.38 per share, with a total value of $957,000.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 150,000 shares in the company, valued at $957,000. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 4,256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.41, for a total transaction of $27,280.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,280. The trade was a 34.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 395.3% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 258,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 206,192 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bloomin’ Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $794,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 58.5% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,445 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 12,350 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 85.4% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 69,632 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 32,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $136,000.

About Bloomin’ Brands

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc engages in the acquisition, operation, design, and development of restaurant concepts. It operates through the U.S. and International geographical segments. The U.S. segment operates in the USA and Puerto Rico. The International segment operates in Brazil, South Korea, Hong Kong, and China.