Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an underweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $6.39, but opened at $6.03. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $6.00 price target on the stock. Bloomin’ Brands shares last traded at $6.1150, with a volume of 211,578 shares trading hands.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on BLMN. Citigroup lifted their target price on Bloomin’ Brands from $6.75 to $7.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $7.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bloomin’ Brands

In related news, Director Rohit Lal purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.69 per share, with a total value of $56,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,587.64. This trade represents a 49.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLMN. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 123.1% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,299,778 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268,988 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 115.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,064,940 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,500 shares during the last quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,031,000. Nuveen LLC increased its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 371.5% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,057,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,523,000 after purchasing an additional 832,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 411.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 712,587 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,135,000 after purchasing an additional 573,363 shares during the last quarter.

Bloomin’ Brands Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $528.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $975.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $980.64 million. Bloomin’ Brands had a return on equity of 26.26% and a net margin of 0.21%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Bloomin’ Brands has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.570-0.620 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

About Bloomin’ Brands

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc engages in the ownership, operation and franchising of casual dining restaurants worldwide. The company’s portfolio includes five full-service restaurant chains: Outback Steakhouse, known for its Australian-inspired steakhouse concept; Carrabba’s Italian Grill, offering Italian-American cuisine; Bonefish Grill, specializing in handcrafted seafood dishes; Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, focusing on premium steak and wine experiences; and Aussie Grill by Outback, featuring a streamlined menu of signature items.