Emerald Advisers LLC Has $16.96 Million Stock Holdings in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI

Emerald Advisers LLC decreased its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 555,576 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 37,902 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC owned 2.51% of BJ’s Restaurants worth $16,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 18.0% during 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 during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,317 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $120,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 356.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,492 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 2,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $212,000. 99.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.43.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Restaurants

In other BJ’s Restaurants news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 8,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $317,553.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,640.49. The trade was a 64.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of BJRI opened at $44.73 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.30. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $47.02. The company has a market cap of $945.59 million, a P/E ratio of 33.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.28.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.05. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 2.23%.The company had revenue of $330.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BJ’s Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 11.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

BJ’s Restaurants 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.