Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Short Interest Down 30.2% in March

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,360,000 shares, a decline of 30.2% from the February 28th total of 10,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 8.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bloomin’ Brands news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total transaction of $79,497.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin’ Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $3,519,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $1,552,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 160.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 401,697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,905,000 after buying an additional 247,702 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 5,146 shares in the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Down 3.2 %

Bloomin’ Brands stock opened at $7.17 on Tuesday. Bloomin’ Brands has a 52-week low of $7.16 and a 52-week high of $29.10. The company has a market cap of $608.96 million, a P/E ratio of -65.18 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.87.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.37%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -40.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays set a $11.00 price objective on Bloomin’ Brands and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.50.

About Bloomin’ Brands

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.