BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Price Target Raised to $48.00 at Benchmark

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Benchmark from $44.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.31% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays increased their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $30.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BJ’s Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock traded up $0.75 during trading on Thursday, hitting $41.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 66,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,596. The stock has a market cap of $880.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.30. BJ’s Restaurants has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $47.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.87.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 2.23%.The firm had revenue of $355.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BJ’s Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 11.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 8,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 64.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,514,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,282,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 6.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 824,597 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,777,000 after acquiring an additional 51,062 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,501,000. Finally, 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 valued at $28,029,000 after acquiring an additional 440,078 shares during the last quarter. 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.