The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stock Holdings in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,250 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,348 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Bloomin’ Brands were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. A&I Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 29.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,080 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,621,000 after buying an additional 49,723 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,414,415 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,270,000 after buying an additional 159,356 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 86.0% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 381,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,655,000 after buying an additional 176,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skylands Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,407,000.

Insider Activity at Bloomin’ Brands

In related news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total value of $79,497.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Down 2.7%

BLMN opened at $8.81 on Friday. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.09 and a 12 month high of $23.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $748.24 million, a P/E ratio of -80.08 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.81.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Bloomin’ Brands had a positive return on equity of 62.18% and a negative net margin of 0.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -2,000.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America cut Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays dropped their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.75.

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.