Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.24 (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 22nd,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share by the restaurant operator on Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th.

Bloomin’ Brands has increased its dividend payment by an average of 68.7% annually over the last three years. Bloomin’ Brands has a dividend payout ratio of 52.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Bloomin’ Brands to earn $1.75 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.9%.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

NASDAQ BLMN opened at $13.19 on Friday. Bloomin’ Brands has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $30.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of -119.90 and a beta of 2.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Bloomin’ Brands had a positive return on equity of 62.18% and a negative net margin of 0.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bloomin’ Brands will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BLMN shares. Raymond James downgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup cut their price objective on 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. reduced their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.