BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) VP Sells $62,023.26 in Stock

Key Points

• BJ's Restaurants VP Alex Puchner sold 1,821 shares of the company's stock at an average price of $34.06, totaling $62,023.26, reducing his ownership by 14.63%.
• Following the sale, BJ's Restaurants shares decreased 2.3% to $32.80, with an average trading volume below its typical levels.
• In their latest earnings report, BJ's Restaurants reported earnings per share of $0.97, surpassing estimates, with revenue increasing by 4.5% year-over-year.

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) VP Alex Puchner sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.06, for a total transaction of $62,023.26. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at $361,785.32. The trade was a 14.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

BJ's Restaurants Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of NASDAQ BJRI traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $30.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 466,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 536,765. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $36.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32. BJ's Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.92 and a 1 year high of $47.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $684.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.37.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $365.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that BJ's Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ's Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 466.1% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 7,527 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in BJ's Restaurants by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 75,396 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,363,000 after acquiring an additional 3,041 shares in the last quarter. JCP Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in BJ's Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,575,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in BJ's Restaurants by 356.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,492 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 2,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its holdings in BJ's Restaurants by 49.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 14,611 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 4,850 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BJRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Benchmark upgraded shares of BJ's Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BJ's Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.67.

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.