BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Director Noah Elbogen Sells 4,652 Shares of Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Director Noah Elbogen sold 4,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $251,208.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 76,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,116,690. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock opened at $54.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.04. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $56.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $358.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $356.97 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.48% and a net margin of 3.15%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 576.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,451,883 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,326,000 after buying an additional 1,237,383 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,362,763 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $102,665,000 after acquiring an additional 640,648 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 935,375 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,557,000 after acquiring an additional 306,930 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in BJ’s Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $13,380,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in BJ’s Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $10,863,000. Institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BJRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Benchmark raised their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho reduced their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants presently has an average 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.