BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on BJRI. Benchmark boosted their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $65.00 price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.88.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of BJRI opened at $67.38 on Monday. BJ’s Restaurants has a 12-month low of $28.46 and a 12-month high of $74.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $57.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.94.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 2.86%.The firm had revenue of $388.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other BJ’s Restaurants news, CMO Heidi Rogers sold 3,090 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.21, for a total transaction of $164,418.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 9,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $492,990.65. This trade represents a 25.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 7,341 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.17, for a total transaction of $405,002.97. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $260,457.57. The trade was a 60.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 63,817 shares of company stock valued at $3,384,688. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. 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. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 1,618.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,317 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 5,341.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,047 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

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.