Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $10.12, but opened at $10.47. Bloomin’ Brands shares last traded at $10.09, with a volume of 261,477 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLMN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $8.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Bloomin’ Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $9.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Bloomin’ Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.10.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $9.20 and its 200 day moving average is $8.02. The stock has a market cap of $864.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 6th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $944.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $925.23 million. Bloomin’ Brands had a return on equity of 24.54% and a net margin of 1.79%. Bloomin’ Brands’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.03) earnings per share. Bloomin’ Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.970-1.020 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.070-0.120 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 1.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Bloomin’ Brands

In other news, EVP Kelly Lefferts sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.16, for a total transaction of $508,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 80,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $821,588.40. The trade was a 38.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.13, for a total value of $202,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,301 shares in the company, valued at $175,259.13. This trade represents a 53.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bloomin’ Brands

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the second quarter worth about $62,563,000. Miller Value Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $23,635,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 79.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,908,998 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $21,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,001 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 84.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,208,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013,953 shares during the period. Finally, Prosperitas Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,289,000.

About Bloomin’ Brands

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. is a restaurant company that owns, operates and franchises casual and upscale dining concepts. Its brands include Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar. The company’s restaurants serve a range of offerings, including steaks and other grilled dishes, Italian cuisine, seafood and fine-dining meals. Bloomin’ Brands was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Bloomin’ Brands serves customers primarily in the United States, as well as in international markets through company-operated restaurants and franchise arrangements.