Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Director Julie T. Kunkel Purchases 1,000 Shares

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Director Julie T. Kunkel acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.65 per share, with a total value of $15,650.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,300. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Up 6.0 %

NASDAQ:BLMN traded up $0.92 on Tuesday, hitting $16.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,199,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,501,194. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.20 and a 1 year high of $30.13. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.53 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.07). Bloomin’ Brands had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 65.73%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 20th. Bloomin’ Brands’s payout ratio is 150.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLMN. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 26,763 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 13,686 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Rye Brook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Rye Brook Capital LLC now owns 247,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,104,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 11,207 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BLMN shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.33.

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.