Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Stock Price

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $39.00 to $42.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Mizuho increased their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.00.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

NASDAQ BJRI opened at $40.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $846.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.33. BJ’s Restaurants has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $47.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.89.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $355.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.71 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.77% and a net margin of 3.49%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

BJ’s Restaurants announced that its board has approved a share 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 repurchase up to 11.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BJ’s Restaurants news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 8,017 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,409 shares in the company, valued at $174,640.49. This trade represents a 64.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $44,326,000 after buying an additional 1,237,383 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $102,665,000 after acquiring an additional 640,648 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 440,078 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $13,380,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,863,000. Institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about BJ’s Restaurants

Here are the key news stories impacting BJ’s Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — BJRI reported $0.66 EPS vs. $0.60 consensus and revenue of $355.4M (up 3.2% YoY), showing outperformance on both EPS and revenue. This is the primary near‑term bullish catalyst. MarketBeat Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark raised its price target to $48 and reiterated a “buy” rating — a clear vote of confidence that implies ~20% upside from current levels. TickerReport: Benchmark
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup lifted its target to $49 (now “neutral”), signaling more upside in analyst models even if the rating is not bullish. Benzinga: Citigroup
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and commentary: recent roundup and analysis pieces (Seeking Alpha, Zacks) highlight the beat and key metrics but note limited margin expansion — useful for fundamentals follow‑up rather than an immediate price driver. Seeking Alpha Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest notices in the filings show zero or inconclusive changes (reports include 0 shares/NaN), so short activity is not an identifiable driver this cycle.
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays raised its target to $42 but kept an “underweight” stance — that preserves a major firm’s skeptical view and may cap upside while encouraging cautious positioning. Benzinga: Barclays

BJ’s Restaurants Company Profile

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.