Zacks Research Cuts Earnings Estimates for BJ’s Restaurants

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) – Analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for BJ’s Restaurants in a research note issued on Wednesday, March 11th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the restaurant operator will earn $0.55 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.63. The consensus estimate for BJ’s Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $1.50 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for BJ’s Restaurants’ Q2 2026 earnings at $0.81 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.55 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.60 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.85 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.09 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.61 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $2.15 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $2.43 EPS.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $355.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.71 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 3.49%.BJ’s Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.38.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Down 4.5%

NASDAQ BJRI opened at $33.73 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $715.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.32. BJ’s Restaurants has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $47.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.34 and its 200-day moving average is $36.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BJ’s Restaurants news, Director C Bradford Richmond bought 1,200 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $42,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 16,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $586,170. This trade represents a 7.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have bought a total of 3,200 shares of company stock worth $110,670 in the last three months. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BJRI. CWM LLC grew its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 187.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 699 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 1,618.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 939 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. 99.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting BJ’s Restaurants

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

• Positive Sentiment: Director C. Bradford Richmond purchased 1,000 shares (~$34.05 each), increasing his stake by ~5.65% to 18,700 shares — an insider buy that can be interpreted as management confidence in the business. Insider Filing
• Positive Sentiment: BJ’s launched a limited‑time “Monster Pizookie®” platter on March 12 to drive traffic and social buzz — a promotional product that may help near‑term comps and lunch/dinner check growth. PR Newswire: Monster Pizookie
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports in the feed show anomalies (zeros and NaN values) for early March; the data is unreliable as published and does not meaningfully signal increased short pressure at this time.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut multiple near‑term and FY2027 EPS estimates across several quarters (notably Q1–Q4 2026 and Q1–Q4 2027), lowering FY2027 from $2.43 to $2.15 — a material downward revision that reduces forward earnings visibility and likely pressured the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha piece flagged the stock as fairly valued and included a downgrade to Hold — an independent sell/hold view that can reinforce negative sentiment when paired with analyst cuts. Seeking Alpha: Downgrade/Hold

About BJ’s Restaurants

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.