William Blair Weighs in on BJ’s Restaurants, Inc.’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:BJRI)

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) – Equities research analysts at William Blair increased their Q1 2024 earnings estimates for BJ’s Restaurants in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 24th. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $0.07 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.05. The consensus estimate for BJ’s Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $1.22 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for BJ’s Restaurants’ Q2 2024 earnings at $0.50 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.21 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $1.25 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.67 EPS.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The restaurant operator reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.07. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 1.47% and a return on equity of 5.45%. The firm had revenue of $323.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $331.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. TheStreet raised shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.30.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BJRI opened at $33.44 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. BJ’s Restaurants has a 12 month low of $21.64 and a 12 month high of $38.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.42. The stock has a market cap of $782.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.29, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 2.12.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BJRI. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 141.0% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $95,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $95,000. 99.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Restaurants

In related news, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc sold 242,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total transaction of $8,598,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,326,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,659,692.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Alex Puchner sold 7,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.25, for a total value of $295,022.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,222 shares in the company, valued at $467,491.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc sold 242,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total value of $8,598,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,326,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,659,692.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Restaurants Company Profile

BJ's Restaurants, Inc owns and operates casual dining restaurants in the United States. Its restaurants offer pizzas, craft and other beers, appetizers, entrées, pastas, sandwiches, specialty salads, and desserts. The company was formerly known as Chicago Pizza & Brewery, Inc and changed its name to BJ's Restaurants, Inc in August 2004.