BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 229,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 19,239 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.00% of BJ’s Restaurants worth $8,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BJRI. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 1,251.3% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 5,831 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ BJRI opened at $44.83 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.46. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.61 and a 52 week high of $45.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $991.46 million, a P/E ratio of 65.93, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.47.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.20. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 1.23% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The business had revenue of $347.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $33.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.20.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Restaurants

In related news, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 3,738 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.32, for a total value of $165,668.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,941.28. The trade was a 44.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Greg Trojan sold 146,102 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.63, for a total transaction of $6,520,532.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,958.48. This trade represents a 88.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

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.