BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Stock Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.82 and traded as high as $63.79. BJ’s Restaurants shares last traded at $63.28, with a volume of 477,956 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Zacks Research cut BJ’s Restaurants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Mizuho upgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $74.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Benchmark lifted their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, William Blair raised BJ’s Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.50.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.82 and its 200 day moving average is $50.83.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $388.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.07 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 12.93%. BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BJ’s Restaurants news, Director C Richmond acquired 753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $47,627.25. Following the acquisition, the director owned 35,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,245,375. This trade represents a 2.17% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noah Elbogen sold 7,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.14, for a total value of $528,504.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 71,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,025,881.70. The trade was a 9.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,784 shares of company stock valued at $4,648,326. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJRI. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 34.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 774 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,561 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 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 (NASDAQ: BJRI) operates and develops casual dining restaurants under the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse brand. Its restaurants offer a broad menu centered on deep-dish pizza, along with appetizers, salads, sandwiches, burgers, entrees, desserts and other American-style dishes.

The company is also known for producing and serving craft beer, including its proprietary BJ’s beers, at many of its locations. Its restaurants typically combine full-service dining with a brewery-inspired atmosphere and offer dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering services, depending on the location.

BJ’s traces its origins to 1978, when the first restaurant opened in Southern California.