Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Decreases Stake in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,314 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,758 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.06% of Bloomin’ Brands worth $1,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 4.8% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,250 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 23.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,026 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 2.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 39,057 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 683.2% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Bloomin’ Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.90.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BLMN opened at $26.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.07. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.03 and a 52-week high of $30.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 2.00.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. Bloomin’ Brands had a return on equity of 73.67% and a net margin of 5.30%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Bloomin’ Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.94%.

Bloomin’ Brands 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.