Easterly Investment Partners LLC Has $8.72 Million Stock Position in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 713,941 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,784 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Bloomin’ Brands were worth $8,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLMN. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 2.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,007 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 238,093 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares during the last quarter. Rye Brook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Rye Brook Capital LLC now owns 167,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 22.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,186 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 3,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 606.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,890 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 4,198 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLMN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bloomin’ Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bloomin’ Brands news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total transaction of $79,497.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ:BLMN opened at $7.93 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.08. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.72 and a 1 year high of $29.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46. The stock has a market cap of $673.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -72.08 and a beta of 2.04.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.57%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Bloomin’ Brands’s payout ratio is presently -40.27%.

Bloomin’ Brands Profile

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