Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on BLMN. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.33.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

Shares of Bloomin’ Brands stock opened at $16.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.88. Bloomin’ Brands has a twelve month low of $15.20 and a twelve month high of $30.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81 and a beta of 2.04.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.07). Bloomin’ Brands had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 61.90%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Bloomin’ Brands’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Bloomin’ Brands will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the first quarter worth about $30,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 284,000.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 2,840 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 6,454.9% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 3,292 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the second quarter worth approximately $111,000. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 5,014 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Company Profile

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.