Insider Selling: BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Sells $405,002.97 in Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Brian Krakower sold 7,341 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.17, for a total value of $405,002.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $260,457.57. The trade was a 60.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of BJRI stock traded up $0.17 on Monday, hitting $54.72. 1,234,754 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,834. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.25. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $56.21. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.42 and a 200 day moving average of $41.04.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $358.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $356.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on BJRI shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Benchmark upped their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BJ’s Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the third quarter worth about $2,514,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,662,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 640,648 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 886,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,078,000 after purchasing an additional 62,321 shares during the period. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC increased its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 411,750 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,571,000 after purchasing an additional 137,283 shares during the period. 99.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.