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

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.00.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BJRI. DA Davidson began coverage on BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays cut their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.03, for a total transaction of $91,078.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,321.86. The trade was a 33.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director C Bradford Richmond bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $34.05 per share, for a total transaction of $34,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,735. This trade represents a 5.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought 3,200 shares of company stock worth $110,670 over the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 187.7% during the fourth 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 holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 1,618.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 939 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 14.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,305 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Up 1.2%

BJRI opened at $47.05 on Friday. BJ’s Restaurants has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $47.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.33 and its 200-day moving average is $39.64. The company has a market capitalization of $988.99 million, a PE ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.29.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.48% and a net margin of 3.15%.The firm had revenue of $358.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $356.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal 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.