BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 109,081 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 6,209 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.48% of BJ’s Restaurants worth $3,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BJRI. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 528.9% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 155,383 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,059,000 after purchasing an additional 130,676 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,310,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 529,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $18,360,000 after acquiring an additional 114,008 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,602,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,064,000. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of BJRI opened at $35.90 on Friday. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.61 and a 1 year high of $38.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.95. The company has a market capitalization of $819.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 2.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.35.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.15). BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 2.24%. The business had revenue of $325.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on BJRI shares. Barclays lowered their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BJ’s Restaurants news, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 2,313 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total value of $82,342.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,339 shares in the company, valued at $190,068.40. This trade represents a 30.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BJ’s Restaurants 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 under brand name Pizookie. The company was formerly known as Chicago Pizza & Brewery, Inc and changed its name to BJ’s Restaurants, Inc in August 2004.