BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Director Lea Anne Ottinger Sells 2,792 Shares of Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Director Lea Anne Ottinger sold 2,792 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total value of $149,372.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 39,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,124,003.50. This represents a 6.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Up 0.3%

BJRI stock opened at $54.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.04. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.46 and a fifty-two week high of $56.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.31.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $356.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 187.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 699 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 1,618.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 939 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 14.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,305 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on BJRI shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. DA Davidson assumed coverage on BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark raised their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

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.