Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bloomin’ Brands were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BLMN. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 219.2% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 165,705 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,187,000 after buying an additional 113,798 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 29.6% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,492,119 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,923,000 after acquiring an additional 569,855 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the second quarter worth $563,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the second quarter worth $711,000. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 588,864 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,324,000 after purchasing an additional 23,466 shares during the period.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ BLMN opened at $13.35 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -121.35 and a beta of 2.04. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.23 and a 52 week high of $30.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.67.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.02. Bloomin’ Brands had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 61.90%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Bloomin’ Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin’ Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.19%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -872.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.70.

About Bloomin’ Brands

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.