Gregory Lynds Sells 21,704 Shares of BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Gregory Lynds sold 21,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.81, for a total value of $1,493,452.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,423.70. The trade was a 46.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of BJRI traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.55. 436,048 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 419,701. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.28. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.46 and a 1 year high of $74.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $388.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake 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 worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 187.7% during the 4th 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. raised its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 4.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 8.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 71,617 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BJRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho set a $74.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. DA Davidson set a $65.00 price objective on BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Benchmark lifted their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.88.

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.