BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Announces Earnings Results

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 13.48%. The firm had revenue of $388.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.07 million.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of BJRI stock traded up $4.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $74.26. The company had a trading volume of 795,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,088. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.25. BJ’s Restaurants has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $74.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.51, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $47.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BJ’s Restaurants news, Director Noah A. Elbogen sold 4,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $251,208.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 76,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,116,690. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 7,341 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.17, for a total transaction of $405,002.97. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $260,457.57. This represents a 60.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 63,817 shares of company stock worth $3,384,688 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Man Group plc boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 85.2% during the 3rd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 41,231 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 18,974 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 4,617 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 258.1% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 34,950 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 25,190 shares during the last quarter. HRT Financial LP increased its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 77.0% during the fourth quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 26,734 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,053,000 after buying an additional 11,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 7.2% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,749 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.