156,024 Shares of BJ's Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI Bought by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 156,024 BJ’s Restaurants shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $9.5 million and representing 0.73% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 99.95% of BJRI.
• Insiders have been net sellers, with executives and directors selling 67,784 shares worth about $4.65 million over the past 90 days. Notable sales included transactions by Director Noah Elbogen and EVP Gregory Lynds.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $56.88 price target. BJRI recently traded at $60.13 after reporting quarterly earnings and revenue above consensus estimates.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 156,024 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $9,476,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.73% of BJ's Restaurants as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BJRI. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in BJ's Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 8.6% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,524 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 7.7% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,561 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $581,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 2.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 103,013 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,616,000 after buying an additional 2,126 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 5,341.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,047 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Noah Elbogen sold 7,535 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.14, for a total value of $528,504.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 71,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,025,881.70. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory Lynds sold 21,704 shares of BJ's Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.81, for a total value of $1,493,452.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,704,423.70. The trade was a 46.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,784 shares of company stock worth $4,648,326. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered BJ's Restaurants from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of BJ's Restaurants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. William Blair upgraded shares of BJ's Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.88.

BJ's Restaurants Stock Down 3.0%

NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $60.13 on Friday. BJ's Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $74.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $64.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.80.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $388.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.07 million. BJ's Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 2.86%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that BJ's Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BJ's Restaurants Profile

BJ's Restaurants, Inc operates casual dining restaurants under the BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse brand. Its restaurants offer a broad menu that includes deep-dish and tavern-style pizzas, burgers, salads, sandwiches, pasta, entrees, desserts and other American-style cuisine.

The company is also known for its handcrafted beer program, which includes a range of house-brewed beers served alongside its food offerings. BJ's restaurants generally combine full-service dining with a casual, family-friendly atmosphere and operate in locations across the United States.

BJ's Restaurants traces its origins to 1978, when its first location opened in Southern California.

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