Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $7.75 and last traded at $8.15, with a volume of 260839 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BLMN shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group cut their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays set a $11.00 target price on Bloomin’ Brands and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.60.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $674.35 million, a P/E ratio of -72.18 and a beta of 2.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.40.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -40.27%.

Insider Activity at Bloomin’ Brands

In other Bloomin’ Brands news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total transaction of $79,497.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin’ Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,007 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 79.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 238,093 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares in the last quarter.

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.