Insider Buying: BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Director Buys $30,525.00 in Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Director C Bradford Richmond acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $61.05 per share, with a total value of $30,525.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 36,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,197,800. This represents a 1.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

C Bradford Richmond also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 31st, C Bradford Richmond bought 753 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $47,627.25.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

NASDAQ:BJRI traded down $1.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $60.71. 484,686 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 456,410. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.83 and its 200-day moving average is $49.33. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.30. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $74.60.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $388.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on BJRI shares. Zacks Research raised BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Benchmark raised their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $220,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 5,787.3% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,161,982 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $70,579,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142,245 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth about $204,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 141.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 28,960 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,970 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 13.7% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 31,997 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,943,000 after acquiring an additional 3,857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.