BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.57.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BJRI opened at $35.88 on Friday. BJ’s Restaurants has a 52 week low of $27.61 and a 52 week high of $38.87. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $35.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $818.78 million, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 2.08.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $325.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.97 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 2.24% and a return on equity of 7.98%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Restaurants

In other news, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total transaction of $82,342.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,339 shares in the company, valued at $190,068.40. This trade represents a 30.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 528.9% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 155,383 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,059,000 after purchasing an additional 130,676 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,310,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 529,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $18,360,000 after buying an additional 114,008 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,250,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,602,000. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BJ’s Restaurants

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 under brand name Pizookie. The company was formerly known as Chicago Pizza & Brewery, Inc and changed its name to BJ’s Restaurants, Inc in August 2004.