BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Price Target Cut to $40.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) had its price target lowered by analysts at Mizuho from $44.00 to $40.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Mizuho’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.23% from the stock’s previous close.

BJRI has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Benchmark boosted their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.13.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

BJ’s Restaurants stock opened at $35.64 on Thursday. BJ’s Restaurants has a 1 year low of $28.46 and a 1 year high of $47.02. The stock has a market cap of $755.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $355.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.71 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 13.82%. BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Restaurants

In other news, Director C Bradford Richmond purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.05 per share, for a total transaction of $34,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 18,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $636,735. This trade represents a 5.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.03, for a total transaction of $91,078.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,062 shares in the company, valued at $177,321.86. This represents a 33.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 3,200 shares of company stock worth $110,670 over the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BJRI. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 39.3% in the 4th 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 period. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 1.8% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 23,034 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 14.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,305 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 187.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 699 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 6.3% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 7,879 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

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.