Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $6.08 Million Holdings in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its position in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 216,120 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 30,929 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.25% of Bloomin’ Brands worth $6,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 54.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,984,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Bloomin’ Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $242,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 520,451 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,798,000 after purchasing an additional 20,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 14.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 171,793 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,224,000 after purchasing an additional 21,462 shares during the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Bloomin’ Brands stock opened at $27.30 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 2.00. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.03 and a 52-week high of $30.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.02.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Bloomin’ Brands had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 73.67%. Bloomin’ Brands’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.