BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Brian Krakower Sells 2,600 Shares of Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Brian Krakower sold 2,600 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.03, for a total value of $91,078.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,062 shares in the company, valued at $177,321.86. The trade was a 33.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BJRI traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $35.15. 15,335 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 365,749. The firm has a market capitalization of $745.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 3.49%.The company had revenue of $355.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 939 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 18.0% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 1.8% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 23,034 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake 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 worth $101,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 187.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 699 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on BJRI shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho lifted their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.38.

About BJ’s Restaurants

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.