BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.1250.

Several analysts have weighed in on BJRI shares. Benchmark lifted their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup upped 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director C Bradford Richmond acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.05 per share, for a total transaction of $34,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 18,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,735. The trade was a 5.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.03, for a total value of $91,078.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,321.86. The trade was a 33.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 3,200 shares of company stock valued at $110,670. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 576.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,451,883 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,326,000 after buying an additional 1,237,383 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 23.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,362,763 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $102,665,000 after buying an additional 640,648 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 233.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 628,445 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,029,000 after acquiring an additional 440,078 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $13,380,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $10,863,000. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

NASDAQ BJRI opened at $35.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $38.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.20. BJ’s Restaurants has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $47.02. The stock has a market cap of $759.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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

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.