UBS Group AG Purchases 169,549 Shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

UBS Group AG boosted its position in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN – Get Rating) by 219.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 246,686 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 169,549 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Bloomin’ Brands were worth $4,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLMN. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,079 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new position in Bloomin’ Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $116,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,339 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Bloomin’ Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $194,000. Finally, Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 9,030 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of BLMN opened at $26.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.89 and a 1 year high of $28.46.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The restaurant operator reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. Bloomin’ Brands had a return on equity of 89.75% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Bloomin’ Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bloomin’ Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. This is an increase from Bloomin’ Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Bloomin’ Brands’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $23.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, February 20th. Gordon Haskett lowered Bloomin’ Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 2nd. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bloomin’ Brands

In other Bloomin’ Brands news, Director Elizabeth A. Smith sold 64,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.89, for a total value of $1,793,187.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 243,594 shares in the company, valued at $6,793,836.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

About Bloomin’ Brands

(Get Rating)

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc engages in the acquisition, operation, design and development of restaurant concepts. It operates through the following segments: U.S. and International. The U.S. segment operates in USA and Puerto Rico. The International segment operates in Brazil, South Korea, Hong Kong, and China.