Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 70,192 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 5,275% compared to the average volume of 1,306 put options.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BLMN traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $12.53. 278,445 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,550,702. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.21. Bloomin’ Brands has a one year low of $11.24 and a one year high of $30.13. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -113.90 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bloomin’ Brands will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. Bloomin’ Brands’s payout ratio is presently -872.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BLMN shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Raymond James downgraded Bloomin’ Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Bloomin’ Brands in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “sell” rating and a $13.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.09.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 34.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,381,150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $22,830,000 after purchasing an additional 356,456 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,492,119 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,923,000 after buying an additional 569,855 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 691,585 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,432,000 after buying an additional 254,570 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 29.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,080 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,621,000 after buying an additional 49,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 6.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,529,130 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,806,000 after acquiring an additional 147,895 shares during the period.

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.