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

Shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.57.

Several research firms have recently commented on BJRI. Barclays decreased their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Benchmark cut BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of BJRI opened at $34.19 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $780.22 million, a P/E ratio of 27.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 2.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $33.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.69. BJ’s Restaurants has a 52 week low of $27.61 and a 52 week high of $38.87.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $325.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.97 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 2.24%. BJ’s Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.16) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 2,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total value of $82,342.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,339 shares in the company, valued at $190,068.40. This trade represents a 30.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Bradford Richmond acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.40 per share, for a total transaction of $73,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $497,007. The trade was a 17.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 61.5% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 10,499 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 20,235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the first quarter worth $45,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 5.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,021 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $57,000. 99.95% of the stock is 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 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.