Insider Selling: BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Sells 6,201 Shares

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Gregory Lynds sold 6,201 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.86, for a total transaction of $346,387.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,596,037.64. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ BJRI traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $54.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,234,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,834. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $43.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.31. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $56.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BJRI. UBS Group AG boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,237,383 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $102,665,000 after buying an additional 640,648 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position 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 valued at $28,557,000 after buying an additional 306,930 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,380,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in BJ’s Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,863,000. 99.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Benchmark raised their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.00.

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.