BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Shares Down 3.2% - Here's Why

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) shares were down 3.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $43.45 and last traded at $43.03. Approximately 18,464 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 385,289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BJRI shares. Barclays upped their price target on BJ's Restaurants from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded BJ's Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $33.00 price target on shares of BJ's Restaurants and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, BJ's Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.20.

BJ's Restaurants Trading Up 1.6%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $973.83 million, a P/E ratio of 46.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $347.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.70 million. BJ's Restaurants had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 1.64%. BJ's Restaurants's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BJ's Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other BJ's Restaurants news, Director Greg Trojan sold 146,102 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.63, for a total transaction of $6,520,532.26. Following the sale, the director owned 19,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at $887,958.48. The trade was a 88.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 3,738 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.32, for a total transaction of $165,668.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,579 shares in the company, valued at $202,941.28. The trade was a 44.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,902 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $574,000. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,502,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 198.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 11,603 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 7,712 shares in the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BJ's Restaurants Company Profile

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.