Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bloomin’ Brands were worth $210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 6,454.9% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 3,292 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands in the second quarter worth $111,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the second quarter valued at about $169,000. Finally, Olympiad Research LP purchased a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of BLMN stock opened at $13.35 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.23 and a 12-month high of $30.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -121.35 and a beta of 2.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $16.35 and its 200 day moving average is $18.67.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Bloomin’ Brands had a return on equity of 61.90% and a net margin of 0.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. Research analysts expect that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. Bloomin’ Brands’s payout ratio is currently -872.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLMN. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Bank of America cut their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.70.

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.