Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,550,000 shares, a growth of 8.5% from the January 15th total of 10,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,890,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.1 days. Currently, 13.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bloomin’ Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLMN. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 6.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,529,130 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,806,000 after acquiring an additional 147,895 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,325,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,390,703 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,190,000 after purchasing an additional 10,635 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,442,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 565.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,791,366 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $21,873,000 after buying an additional 1,522,370 shares during the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of BLMN traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $11.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,124,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,487. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46. The firm has a market cap of $941.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -100.90 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a 50 day moving average of $12.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.62. Bloomin’ Brands has a 1-year low of $10.85 and a 1-year high of $30.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLMN. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “sell” rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $13.00 price objective (down from $19.00) on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lowered Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bloomin’ Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.30.

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.