Bloomin’ Brands initiated with a Hold at Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of Bloomin’ Brands with a Hold rating and $25 price target. Bloomin’ has “meaningfully improved” its margin profile over the last few years, but “does not appear to be getting credit for the progress,” the analyst tells investors. However, the firm has concerns about risks to margins should Bloomin’ need to ramp up marketing as well as about sales as traffic is pressured across the industry, the analyst added.