BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.00.

BJRI has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho lowered their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Restaurants

In other news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 7,341 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.17, for a total value of $405,002.97. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $260,457.57. The trade was a 60.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kendra D. Miller sold 19,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.60, for a total transaction of $1,070,911.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,590,104.40. This trade represents a 40.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 63,817 shares of company stock valued at $3,384,688. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 114.7% during the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 74,958 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,953,000 after buying an additional 40,037 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $1,148,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,724,000. Burney Co. bought a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,990,000. Finally, Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

BJRI stock opened at $62.26 on Monday. 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 has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $62.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 31.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.96.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $358.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $356.97 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.48% and a net margin of 3.15%.BJ’s Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. On average, analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.