BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.30.

Several analysts recently commented on BJRI shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $34.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $809.88 million, a PE ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. BJ’s Restaurants has a twelve month low of $21.64 and a twelve month high of $38.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.41.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.17. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 1.80% and a return on equity of 6.51%. The firm had revenue of $337.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.15 EPS. BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Restaurants

In other BJ’s Restaurants news, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.56, for a total value of $56,896.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,105.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJRI. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 298.7% during the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 141,556 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,097,000 after acquiring an additional 106,054 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 102.9% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 124,838 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,495,000 after acquiring an additional 63,299 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $2,199,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 296,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,716,000 after acquiring an additional 51,364 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 166.3% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 65,454 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,536,000 after purchasing an additional 40,878 shares in the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BJ’s Restaurants Company Profile

BJ's Restaurants, Inc owns and operates casual dining restaurants in the United States. Its restaurants offer pizzas, craft and other beers, appetizers, entrées, pastas, sandwiches, specialty salads, and desserts. The company was formerly known as Chicago Pizza & Brewery, Inc and changed its name to BJ's Restaurants, Inc in August 2004.