BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• BJ's Restaurants carries a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from 10 covering analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $42.00.
• Recent analyst updates were mixed: Mizuho and Barclays cut price targets and assigned cautious ratings, while Benchmark raised its target to $50 and kept a buy rating.
• Insider selling was notable, with Director Noah A. Elbogen and EVP Gregory S. Lynds both selling shares; meanwhile, BJRI recently reported EPS of $0.57, below estimates, though revenue came in slightly ahead of expectations.

Shares of BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the ten analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.00.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BJRI shares. Mizuho reduced their price target on BJ's Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Benchmark increased their price objective on BJ's Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays cut their target price on BJ's Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on BJ's Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut BJ's Restaurants from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Insider Activity at BJ's Restaurants

In other BJ's Restaurants news, Director Noah A. Elbogen sold 4,652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $251,208.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 76,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,116,690. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gregory S. Lynds sold 6,201 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.86, for a total transaction of $346,387.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,596,037.64. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 63,817 shares of company stock valued at $3,384,688 in the last quarter. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ's Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BJRI. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in BJ's Restaurants by 15.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,189 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,274,000 after buying an additional 5,013 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in BJ's Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth about $291,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 17,662 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 4,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 291,957 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $13,021,000 after acquiring an additional 53,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 71,617 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company's stock.

BJ's Restaurants Price Performance

BJRI opened at $62.26 on Monday. BJ's Restaurants has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $62.68. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 31.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.26 and a 200 day moving average of $42.96.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $358.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $356.97 million. BJ's Restaurants had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 13.48%. The company's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BJ's Restaurants will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

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.

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