Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes Position in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 81,921 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,501,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 18.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 1.8% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 23,034 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 7,879 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,172 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 71,617 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity 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 that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $317,553.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,409 shares in the company, valued at $174,640.49. This trade represents a 64.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research cut BJ’s Restaurants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, Mizuho set a $39.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.43.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock traded up $0.29 on Wednesday, reaching $42.41. 8,855 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 357,994. The company has a market capitalization of $896.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.53 and a 200 day moving average of $36.19. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $47.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.05. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 12.92%. The firm had revenue of $330.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.13) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

BJ’s Restaurants declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 11.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.