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

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.75.

BJRI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Mizuho raised BJ’s Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 8,017 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $317,553.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,409 shares in the company, valued at $174,640.49. This represents a 64.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 1,618.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 971 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 18.0% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 14.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,305 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 77.5% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,317 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $41.12 on Thursday. BJ’s Restaurants has a 1 year low of $28.46 and a 1 year high of $47.02. The stock has a market cap of $869.28 million, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.57.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $330.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $335.86 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 2.23%.The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.13) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BJ’s Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 11.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

BJ’s Restaurants Company Profile

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc is a publicly traded casual dining chain known for its deep‐dish pizzas, California‐style thin crust offerings and in‐house craft beer selections. Operating under the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse brand, the company combines a microbrewery concept with full‐service dining, offering an extensive menu that includes appetizers, salads, pasta dishes, sandwiches and the signature Pizookie dessert.

Founded in 1978 in Orange County, California, BJ’s Restaurants began as BJ’s Chicago Pizzeria, bringing a Chicago‐style pizza experience to the West Coast.