Citigroup Cuts BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Price Target to $47.00

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) had its price target decreased by Citigroup from $49.00 to $47.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. DA Davidson started coverage on BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Benchmark lifted 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.88.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BJRI opened at $39.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $830.71 million, a PE ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.78. BJ’s Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $28.46 and a fifty-two week high of $47.02.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $355.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.71 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 3.49%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Restaurants

In related news, Director C Bradford Richmond purchased 1,200 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $42,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,700 shares in the company, valued at $586,170. The trade was a 7.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 2,600 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.03, for a total value of $91,078.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,321.86. This represents a 33.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 3,200 shares of company stock valued at $110,670. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 23.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,362,763 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $102,665,000 after buying an additional 640,648 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 576.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,451,883 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,383 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,084,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,709,000 after acquiring an additional 23,513 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 48.8% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 935,375 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,557,000 after acquiring an additional 306,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 7.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 886,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,078,000 after acquiring an additional 62,321 shares during 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 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.