DA Davidson Begins Coverage on BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI)

Stock analysts at DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.02% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Benchmark increased their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup raised their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.38.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of BJRI opened at $35.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $745.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. BJ’s Restaurants has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $47.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.95.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 13.82%. The firm had revenue of $355.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Restaurants

In other BJ’s Restaurants news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 8,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $317,553.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,640.49. This trade represents a 64.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Bradford Richmond purchased 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $42,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 16,700 shares in the company, valued at $586,170. This trade represents a 7.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 939 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in 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 last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 1.8% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 23,034 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,305 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key BJ’s Restaurants News

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

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.