American Century Companies Inc. Has $27.08 Million Stock Position in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 886,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,321 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 4.20% of BJ’s Restaurants worth $27,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 5,013 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the first quarter valued at about $291,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $1,167,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 5.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 523,687 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $23,359,000 after buying an additional 25,892 shares during the period. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen cut BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.38.

BJ’s Restaurants News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BJ’s Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company director C. Bradford Richmond increased his stake with two recent purchases (1,200 shares on Mar 3 at $35.10 and 1,000 shares on Mar 6 at $34.50). Combined, these buys raise insider ownership and can be interpreted as management confidence in the stock’s near-term outlook. Mar 3 SEC Filing Mar 6 SEC Filing InsiderTrades Article
• Neutral Sentiment: DA Davidson initiated coverage with a “neutral” rating and a $38 price target (roughly mid-single-digit upside from current levels). New coverage can increase trading interest but does not shift consensus sentiment materially. Benzinga Coverage Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in recent reports shows zeros/NaN (data error or reporting lag) and a 0.0 days-to-cover figure — this appears to be a reporting artifact rather than a meaningful change in short activity. Investors should watch for corrected short-interest releases. (No external link available in the feed.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarterly results (Feb. 25) beat EPS and revenue expectations modestly; that fundamental beat supports the longer-term case but didn’t prevent intraday weakness amid higher volume. For background on results and analyst targets, see the MarketBeat summary. MarketBeat BJRI Summary

Insider Activity at BJ’s Restaurants

In related news, Director C Bradford Richmond bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.50 per share, with a total value of $34,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 17,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,650. This represents a 5.99% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 8,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $317,553.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $174,640.49. This trade represents a 64.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

NASDAQ BJRI opened at $35.18 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $745.82 million, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.97. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $47.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $355.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.71 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 13.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.