EntryPoint Capital LLC Buys Shares of 29,169 Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 29,169 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BLMN. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 606.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,890 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 4,198 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $140,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 63,457.9% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 12,076 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 12,057 shares in the last quarter. Fruth Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $152,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 527,533.3% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 15,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 15,826 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Bloomin’ Brands

In related news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total transaction of $79,497.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

Shares of BLMN opened at $7.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $673.50 million, a P/E ratio of -72.08 and a beta of 2.04. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.72 and a 52 week high of $29.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.57%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -40.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BLMN shares. StockNews.com upgraded Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays set a $11.00 target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America cut shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.50.

About Bloomin’ Brands

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.