BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• BJ's Restaurants has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a more cautious outlook for the company's stock.
• Analysts have varying opinions on the stock, with an average rating of "hold" and a consensus target price of $38.80.
• Recently, insider sales have occurred, including a significant transaction by Director Greg Trojan, who sold 146,102 shares, representing an 88% decrease in his ownership stake.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

BJRI has been the subject of several other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $33.00 price objective on shares of BJ's Restaurants and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on BJ's Restaurants from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on BJ's Restaurants from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ's Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.67.

BJ's Restaurants Stock Down 0.3%

BJRI traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.33. 213,587 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 430,043. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $759.38 million, a PE ratio of 28.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.59. BJ's Restaurants has a 1 year low of $27.61 and a 1 year high of $47.02.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.28. BJ's Restaurants had a net margin of 1.99% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $365.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BJ's Restaurants will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ's Restaurants

In other news, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 3,738 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.32, for a total value of $165,668.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,579 shares in the company, valued at $202,941.28. This represents a 44.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg Trojan sold 146,102 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.63, for a total value of $6,520,532.26. Following the sale, the director owned 19,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at $887,958.48. This represents a 88.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ's Restaurants

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BJRI. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants during the second quarter worth $250,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 593,478 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,469,000 after acquiring an additional 15,151 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in BJ's Restaurants by 71.6% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 10,804 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 4,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in BJ's Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $289,000. 99.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About BJ's Restaurants

BJ's Restaurants, Inc owns and operates casual dining restaurants in the United States. Its restaurants offer pizzas, craft and other beers, appetizers, entrées, pastas, sandwiches, specialty salads, and desserts under brand name Pizookie. The company was formerly known as Chicago Pizza & Brewery, Inc and changed its name to BJ's Restaurants, Inc in August 2004.