BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Price Target Cut to $47.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup cut its price target on BJ's Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and kept a "neutral" rating, a level that the firm says implies roughly 27.9% upside from the stock's prior close.
• The stock fell about 3.5% to $36.76 after the note; analysts' consensus rating remains Hold with a consensus target price of $41.88.
• BJ's recently beat expectations with $0.66 EPS (vs. $0.60 est.) and $355.4M revenue (vs. $353.7M est.), with revenue up 3.2% year‑over‑year and analysts forecasting roughly 1.5 EPS for the current year.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup from $49.00 to $47.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Citigroup's price target would suggest a potential upside of 27.87% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on BJRI. Benchmark boosted their price target on BJ's Restaurants from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of BJ's Restaurants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on BJ's Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Mizuho reduced their target price 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on BJ's Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BJ's Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.88.

BJ's Restaurants Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of BJRI stock traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $36.76. 156,582 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 365,424. BJ's Restaurants has a 1 year low of $28.46 and a 1 year high of $47.02. The stock has a market cap of $779.12 million, a PE ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $37.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.67.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $355.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.71 million. BJ's Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 3.49%.BJ's Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that BJ's Restaurants will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other BJ's Restaurants news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.03, for a total value of $91,078.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at $177,321.86. This trade represents a 33.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director C Bradford Richmond purchased 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.10 per share, for a total transaction of $42,120.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 16,700 shares in the company, valued at $586,170. The trade was a 7.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 3,200 shares of company stock worth $110,670. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ's Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJRI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in BJ's Restaurants by 23.5% during 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 period. UBS Group AG grew its position in BJ's Restaurants by 576.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,451,883 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $44,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,383 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in BJ's Restaurants by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,084,001 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $42,709,000 after acquiring an additional 23,513 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in BJ's Restaurants by 48.8% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 935,375 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,557,000 after acquiring an additional 306,930 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in BJ's Restaurants by 7.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 886,918 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $27,078,000 after acquiring an additional 62,321 shares during the period. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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