Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $2.70 Million Holdings in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 376,681 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 9,197 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.44% of Bloomin’ Brands worth $2,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 8,666.6% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,568,253 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $19,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550,364 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 565.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,791,366 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,370 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 385.6% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,817,145 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442,964 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 483.0% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,225,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fund 1 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $7,839,000.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:BLMN opened at $9.39 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $797.49 million, a P/E ratio of -312.90 and a beta of 1.32. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.09 and a 12-month high of $21.45.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Bloomin’ Brands had a positive return on equity of 55.08% and a negative net margin of 0.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.39%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -2,000.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLMN has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 target price on Bloomin’ Brands and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bloomin’ Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.75.

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.