Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $2.63 Million Stock Position in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 158,907 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 33,071 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.19% of Bloomin’ Brands worth $2,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BLMN. Rye Brook Capital LLC increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 0.3% during the first quarter. Rye Brook Capital LLC now owns 247,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,104,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 295,261 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,468,000 after purchasing an additional 64,006 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 23,587 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,915 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 2.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,375,128 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $68,119,000 after buying an additional 58,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the first quarter valued at about $2,042,000.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BLMN opened at $15.78 on Wednesday. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.14 and a 52 week high of $30.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.72 and its 200-day moving average is $20.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66 and a beta of 2.04.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.07). Bloomin’ Brands had a return on equity of 61.90% and a net margin of 0.70%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.08%. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 150.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLMN. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bloomin’ Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Bloomin’ Brands Company Profile

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.