Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Shares Down 8.3% After Analyst Downgrade

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) traded down 8.3% during mid-day trading on Friday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $13.00 to $10.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. Bloomin’ Brands traded as low as $9.29 and last traded at $9.19. 1,835,305 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 1,994,884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.02.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on BLMN. StockNews.com raised Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Raymond James lowered Bloomin’ Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America lowered Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 6.6% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 2.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,007 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 79.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Down 6.4 %

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 company has a market cap of $795.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.26 and a beta of 1.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.23.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.40%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -40.27%.

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.