Is Bloomin' Brands (BLMN) A Worthy Pick For Value Investors?

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, Bloomin’ Brands has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 11.52, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 18.63. However, if we focus on the long-term PE trend, Bloomin’ Brands’ current PE level puts it below its midpoint of 14.72 over the past five years.

The stock’s PE compares quite favorably with the Retail-Wholesale Market’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 28.21. This indicates that the stock is undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

Meanwhile, Bloomin’ Brands has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 11.11, which is lower than the current level. So, it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for Bloomin’ Brands stock in the near term too.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, Bloomin’ Brands has a P/S ratio of just 0.4. This is much lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.36x right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Bloomin’ Brands currently has a Value Score of A, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Bloomin’ Brands a solid choice for value investors.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Bloomin’ Brands might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of B and a Momentum Score of A. This gives BLMN a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. Both the current year and next year has seen zero estimates go higher in the past sixty days compared to one downward revision, over the same time frame.

This has had a positive effect on the consensus estimate. While the current-year consensus estimate inched up 0.6% over the past two months, the next-year estimate has also increased 0.6%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

Bloomin' Brands, Inc. Price and Consensus

Bloomin' Brands, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Bloomin' Brands, Inc. Quote

Despite this somewhat bullish analyst sentiment, the stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and it is the reason why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Bloomin’ Brands is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Despite a strong industry rank (among Top 38% of more than 250 industries), with a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about the stock.

However, over the past two years, the broader industry has clearly outperformed the market at large, as you can see below:

So, despite satisfactory industry performance and positive analyst sentiments, value investors might want to wait the Zacks Rank to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.

Wall Street’s Next Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Zacks EVP Kevin Matras believes this familiar stock has only just begun its climb to become one of the greatest investments of all time. It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in pure genius.

Click for details >>