State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Makes New $2.04 Million Investment in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN – Get Rating) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 111,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,037,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 6.2% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 9,030 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 10.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,339 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 32.2% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 46,261 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 11,273 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 51.1% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 48,735 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 16,472 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 3.5% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 221,589 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,862,000 after buying an additional 7,561 shares during the period.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

BLMN stock opened at $23.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.99 and a 200-day moving average of $20.94. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.89 and a 12-month high of $25.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71 and a beta of 1.81.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.02. Bloomin’ Brands had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 92.10%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Smith sold 200,000 shares of Bloomin’ Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $4,838,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 243,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,892,538.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Smith sold 203,032 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.93, for a total transaction of $4,655,523.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 243,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,585,610.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Smith sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $4,838,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 243,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,892,538.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 724,508 shares of company stock worth $17,083,646. Company insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLMN has been the subject of several recent research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, October 28th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 2nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a research report on Friday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.67.

Bloomin’ Brands Profile

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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.