Ancora Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in BJ's Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI

Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 28,960 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,759,000. Ancora Advisors LLC owned about 0.14% of BJ's Restaurants at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in BJ's Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in BJ's Restaurants by 187.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 699 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 1,618.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,031 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 77.5% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,317 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lea Anne Ottinger sold 2,792 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total value of $149,372.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 39,701 shares in the company, valued at $2,124,003.50. This represents a 6.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 7,341 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.17, for a total transaction of $405,002.97. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $260,457.57. This represents a 60.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 128,126 shares of company stock valued at $7,870,697. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

BJ's Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of BJ's Restaurants stock opened at $66.80 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. BJ's Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $74.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.32. The company's fifty day moving average is $63.97 and its 200 day moving average is $48.62.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $388.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.07 million. BJ's Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 2.86%.BJ's Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that BJ's Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BJRI shares. William Blair upgraded BJ's Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on BJ's Restaurants from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on BJ's Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on BJ's Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised BJ's Restaurants from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.88.

About BJ's Restaurants

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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