BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.88.

BJRI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark lifted their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered BJ’s Restaurants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $65.00 target price on BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

BJRI opened at $57.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.41. BJ’s Restaurants has a 1 year low of $28.46 and a 1 year high of $74.60.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.04. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company had revenue of $388.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Restaurants

In other news, EVP Kendra D. Miller sold 10,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.31, for a total transaction of $708,140.27. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,982,196.69. The trade was a 26.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director C Richmond purchased 753 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $47,627.25. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,245,375. The trade was a 2.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,784 shares of company stock valued at $4,648,326. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $200,006,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter worth $9,476,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $5,724,000. Meros Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $8,715,047. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $7,516,000. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BJ’s Restaurants

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc operates casual dining restaurants under the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse brand. Its restaurants offer a broad menu that includes deep-dish and tavern-style pizzas, burgers, salads, sandwiches, pasta, entrees, desserts and other American-style cuisine.

The company is also known for its handcrafted beer program, which includes a range of house-brewed beers served alongside its food offerings. BJ’s restaurants generally combine full-service dining with a casual, family-friendly atmosphere and operate in locations across the United States.

BJ’s Restaurants traces its origins to 1978, when its first location opened in Southern California.