BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Gregory Lynds Sells 25,350 Shares of Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Gregory Lynds sold 25,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total transaction of $1,710,364.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,474 shares in the company, valued at $3,135,600.78. This represents a 35.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $67.85 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $74.60.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 2.86%.The firm had revenue of $388.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 324,588 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,393,000 after purchasing an additional 137,511 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 31.7% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 19,737 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 4,746 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 238.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,272 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 11,458 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 7.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 107,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,761,000 after buying an additional 7,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 7.7% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,561 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $581,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $74.00 target price on BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.88.

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.