Noah Elbogen Sells 4,652 Shares of BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Director Noah Elbogen sold 4,652 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $251,208.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 76,235 shares in the company, valued at $4,116,690. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of BJRI traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $54.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,234,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,834. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $56.21. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.04.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho reduced their price target 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. Benchmark lifted their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 576.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,451,883 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,383 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 23.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,362,763 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $102,665,000 after acquiring an additional 640,648 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 48.8% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 935,375 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,557,000 after acquiring an additional 306,930 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $13,380,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $10,863,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

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.