Insider Selling: BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Sells 7,419 Shares of Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Kendra Miller sold 7,419 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.56, for a total value of $360,266.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,388,767.44. This represents a 20.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

NASDAQ:BJRI traded up $3.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $51.82. 532,979 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 367,912. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.35. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $51.95. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 13.48%. The firm had revenue of $358.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $356.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 324,588 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,393,000 after purchasing an additional 137,511 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 19,737 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 4,746 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 238.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,272 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 11,458 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 107,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,761,000 after purchasing an additional 7,080 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,561 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BJRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

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.