Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 404,370 Shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. $BLMN

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 88.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 404,370 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Bloomin’ Brands were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 32.9% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,704 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 505.7% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 5,209 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 294.4% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 8,709 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 6,501 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 21.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 14,583 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $135,000.

Insider Activity at Bloomin’ Brands

In other news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 4,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.41, for a total transaction of $27,280.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,280. This trade represents a 34.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Eric C. Christel acquired 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.38 per share, with a total value of $957,000.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 150,000 shares in the company, valued at $957,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on BLMN. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Bloomin’ Brands in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.07.

Bloomin’ Brands Stock Performance

BLMN stock opened at $7.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $596.54 million, a PE ratio of -10.45 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.76. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $5.90 and a 1-year high of $13.25.

Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $928.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $905.59 million. Bloomin’ Brands had a positive return on equity of 33.92% and a negative net margin of 1.46%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. Bloomin’ Brands has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.100-1.150 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.230-0.280 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Bloomin’ Brands Company 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.