Brokerages Set BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) PT at $42.00

Shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.00.

BJRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 7,341 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.17, for a total value of $405,002.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $260,457.57. The trade was a 60.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory S. Lynds sold 6,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.86, for a total transaction of $346,387.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,596,037.64. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 63,817 shares of company stock valued at $3,384,688. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 939 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 14.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,305 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 187.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 699 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,904 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 8.6% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,524 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of BJRI opened at $54.62 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.27. BJ’s Restaurants has a 12-month low of $28.46 and a 12-month high of $56.21.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $358.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $356.97 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.48% and a net margin of 3.15%.The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.