Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. Has $315,000 Stock Position in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,207 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the quarter. Bloomin’ Brands accounts for about 0.4% of Watershed Asset Management L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Bloomin’ Brands were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 4.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 23.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,026 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 39,057 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 683.2% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BLMN shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. 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. Citigroup upped their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Bloomin’ Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock. in a 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.90.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

Shares of BLMN traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,020,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,297,226. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.02.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. Bloomin’ Brands had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 73.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Announces Dividend

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 $0.24 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 37.94%.

About Bloomin’ Brands

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.