Short Interest in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Increases By 8.5%

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,550,000 shares, a growth of 8.5% from the January 15th total of 10,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days. Approximately 13.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,325,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 8,666.6% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,568,253 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $19,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550,364 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 565.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,791,366 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,370 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 385.6% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,817,145 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,442,964 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 483.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,225,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,372 shares in the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

Shares of BLMN traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $11.10. 2,124,961 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,430,487. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $12.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $941.72 million, a P/E ratio of -100.90 and a beta of 1.97. Bloomin’ Brands has a 12 month low of $10.85 and a 12 month high of $30.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BLMN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Raymond James lowered shares of Bloomin’ Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Bloomin’ Brands in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $13.00 price objective (down previously from $19.00) on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bloomin’ Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.30.

Bloomin’ Brands Company Profile

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.