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

Key Points

• Analysts collectively rate BJ’s Restaurants “Hold.” Of 11 analysts, two recommend selling, five rate it a hold, three recommend buying and one gives a strong-buy rating; the average 12-month price target is $56.88.
• The stock was trading near its 52-week high at $69.89, up 3%, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.49 billion. Recent analyst actions were mixed, including higher targets from Benchmark and Piper Sandler, but a lower target and underweight rating from Barclays.
• BJ’s Restaurants exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.94 in EPS and $388.89 million in revenue, with revenue up 6.4% year over year. Meanwhile, insiders sold about 89,167 shares worth $5.1 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 99.95% of the stock.

Shares of BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.8750.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on BJ's Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded BJ's Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Benchmark increased their target price on BJ's Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, William Blair upgraded BJ's Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th.

BJ's Restaurants Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of BJ's Restaurants stock opened at $69.89 on Friday. BJ's Restaurants has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $74.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company's fifty day moving average price is $58.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.28.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $377.07 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that BJ's Restaurants will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BJ's Restaurants

In other BJ's Restaurants news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 7,341 shares of BJ's Restaurants stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $260,457.57. This trade represents a 60.86% 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, Director Lea Anne Ottinger sold 2,792 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total transaction of $149,372.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 39,701 shares in the company, valued at $2,124,003.50. This represents a 6.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,167 shares of company stock valued at $5,095,052. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ's Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJRI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in BJ's Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $7,516,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in BJ's Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $393,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 73.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 324,588 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $11,393,000 after buying an additional 137,511 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 31.7% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 19,737 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 4,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 238.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,272 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 11,458 shares during the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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