BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,362,763 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 640,648 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of BJ’s Restaurants worth $102,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BJRI. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 233.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 628,445 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,029,000 after buying an additional 440,078 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter worth $13,380,000. JCP Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,575,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $4,771,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in BJ’s Restaurants during the third quarter worth $2,501,000. 99.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock opened at $35.16 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.95. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $47.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $745.39 million, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.32.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $355.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.71 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 3.49%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on BJRI. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BJ’s Restaurants news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 8,017 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $317,553.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $174,640.49. The trade was a 64.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.30% 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.