Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 153,587 Shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its stake in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 89.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,511 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 153,587 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Bloomin’ Brands were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 5,146 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the 4th quarter worth $140,000.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BLMN opened at $7.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $643.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -68.90 and a beta of 1.29. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.09 and a 1 year high of $21.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

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

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.92%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2,000.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BLMN shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.75.

Bloomin’ Brands 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.