BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Price Target Raised to $68.00

Key Points

• Benchmark raised BJ's Restaurants’ price target from $50 to $68 and kept a buy rating, implying upside from the prior close.
• Despite the upbeat call, the broader analyst view remains cautious: the stock’s consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $44.25.
• BJ's Restaurants recently missed earnings estimates with Q1 EPS of $0.57 versus $0.61 expected, even as revenue came in slightly above forecasts and rose 2.9% year over year.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Benchmark from $50.00 to $68.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Benchmark's target price suggests a potential upside of 8.85% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BJRI. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Piper Sandler lifted 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 note on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho cut their price objective on BJ's Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.25.

BJ's Restaurants Trading Up 3.1%

NASDAQ BJRI opened at $62.47 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.05 and a 200-day moving average of $43.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.25. BJ's Restaurants has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $63.91. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $358.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $356.97 million. BJ's Restaurants had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 13.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that BJ's Restaurants will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BJ's Restaurants

In other news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 7,341 shares of BJ's Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.17, for a total value of $405,002.97. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $260,457.57. The trade was a 60.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Noah A. Elbogen sold 4,652 shares of BJ's Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $251,208.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 76,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,116,690. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 63,817 shares of company stock valued at $3,384,688 over the last three months. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ's Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 15.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,189 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 5,013 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in BJ's Restaurants in the first quarter worth $291,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake 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 position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 22.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 291,957 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $13,021,000 after purchasing an additional 53,574 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in BJ's Restaurants by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 71,617 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.