Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 50.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 46,845 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,666 shares during the quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Bloomin’ Brands were worth $572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 606.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,890 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 4,198 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the fourth quarter worth $140,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 63,457.9% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 12,076 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 12,057 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management acquired a new position in Bloomin’ Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $152,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management boosted its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 527,533.3% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 15,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 15,826 shares during the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLMN opened at $7.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $673.50 million, a PE ratio of -72.08 and a beta of 2.04. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $7.72 and a one year high of $29.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.59 and a 200 day moving average of $13.08.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.57%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -40.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLMN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America downgraded Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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, Barclays set a $11.00 target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bloomin’ Brands news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total transaction of $79,497.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Bloomin’ Brands Company Profile

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.