BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.4286.

BJRI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays raised their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $30.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Down 5.2%

BJRI opened at $40.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.36. BJ’s Restaurants has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $47.02. The company has a market cap of $852.36 million, a P/E ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.48.

BJ’s Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 11.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 8,017 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $317,553.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,409 shares in the company, valued at $174,640.49. This represents a 64.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS Group AG increased its position 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 valued at $44,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,383 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 640,648 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 233.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 628,445 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,029,000 after purchasing an additional 440,078 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter worth $13,380,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 222.9% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 303,879 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,277,000 after purchasing an additional 209,776 shares during the period. 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.