BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Trading 7% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• BJ's Restaurants shares jumped 7% after William Blair upgraded the stock from market perform to outperform. The stock traded as high as $65.52 during the session.
• Despite the upgrade, Wall Street remains cautious overall: analysts currently have an average rating of Hold with an average price target of $44.25.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.57 per share, missing estimates, while revenue came in slightly above expectations at $358.12 million. Insider selling was also notable, with executives selling shares over the past few weeks.

Shares of BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) rose 7% during trading on Friday after William Blair upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. The company traded as high as $65.52 and last traded at $66.85. 175,849 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 395,802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.47.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on BJRI. Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings cut BJ's Restaurants from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho reduced their price target on BJ's Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ's Restaurants currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BJ's Restaurants news, CMO Heidi Rogers sold 3,090 shares of BJ's Restaurants stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.21, for a total transaction of $164,418.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 9,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $492,990.65. The trade was a 25.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 7,341 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.17, for a total value of $405,002.97. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $260,457.57. This represents a 60.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 63,817 shares of company stock worth $3,384,688. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ's Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in BJ's Restaurants by 114.7% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 74,958 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,953,000 after acquiring an additional 40,037 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in BJ's Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,148,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,724,000. Burney Co. bought a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,990,000. Finally, Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company's stock.

BJ's Restaurants Price Performance

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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $51.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.54. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.89, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $358.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $356.97 million. BJ's Restaurants had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 13.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that BJ's Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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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