BlackRock Inc. Invests $200.01 Million in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 3,293,088 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $200,006,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 0.15% of BJ’s Restaurants as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 114.7% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 74,958 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,953,000 after acquiring an additional 40,037 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $1,148,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $5,724,000. Burney Co. purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth $3,990,000. Finally, Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $3,107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BJRI has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson set a $65.00 price objective on BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $74.00 target price on BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Benchmark increased their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. William Blair upgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.88.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $63.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $64.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.76. The stock has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.32. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $74.60.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.04. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 2.86%.The business had revenue of $388.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Noah A. Elbogen sold 7,535 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.14, for a total transaction of $528,504.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 71,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,025,881.70. This represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 7,341 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.17, for a total transaction of $405,002.97. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $260,457.57. The trade was a 60.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 124,077 shares of company stock worth $7,676,952 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.40% 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.