Short Interest in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Expands By 9.3%

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) saw a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,960,000 shares, a growth of 9.3% from the March 15th total of 4,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days. Approximately 5.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

NASDAQ:BLMN opened at $27.02 on Wednesday. Bloomin’ Brands has a one year low of $22.03 and a one year high of $30.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 2.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.89.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Bloomin’ Brands had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 73.67%. Bloomin’ Brands’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Bloomin’ Brands will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.94%.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin’ Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 683.2% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,303 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Bloomin’ Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Raymond James raised their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.90.

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.