Legato Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in BJ's Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI

Key Points

• Legato Capital Management opened a new position in BJ's Restaurants during the fourth quarter, buying 29,140 shares valued at about $1.15 million. The filing shows the stake represented roughly 0.14% of the company.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but slightly cautious: the stock has an average Hold rating with a consensus price target of $42, while recent analyst moves included Benchmark raising its target to $50 and Barclays cutting its target to $38.
• BJ's Restaurants recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.57, missing estimates by $0.04, even though revenue came in slightly above expectations at $358.1 million and rose 2.9% year over year.

Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 29,140 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,148,000. Legato Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of BJ's Restaurants as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 187.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 699 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of BJ's Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $232,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,309 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 2,375 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of BJ's Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 939 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BJRI. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of BJ's Restaurants from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ's Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.00.

BJ's Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of BJ's Restaurants stock opened at $44.56 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.15 and a 200-day moving average of $39.28. BJ's Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $47.02. 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 company has a market cap of $936.65 million, a PE ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Key Headlines Impacting BJ's Restaurants

Here are the key news stories impacting BJ's Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its FY2026 EPS estimate to $2.19 from $2.18 and nudged Q2 2026 EPS to $0.90 from $0.89, signaling slightly better expected profitability for BJ’s Restaurants. BJRI stock report
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also increased its Q4 2026 EPS estimate to $0.65 from $0.63, while keeping other forward estimates generally stable to slightly improved, which may be viewed favorably by investors. BJRI stock report
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks trimmed its Q1 2027 estimate to $0.63 from $0.68 and lowered FY2028 to $2.68 from $2.78, but those longer-term changes are offset by the near-term upgrades and are less likely to drive today’s move on their own. BJRI stock report

Insider Activity at BJ's Restaurants

In related news, Director C Bradford Richmond acquired 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $42,120.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 16,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,170. This trade represents a 7.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.03, for a total transaction of $91,078.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $177,321.86. The trade was a 33.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders purchased 3,200 shares of company stock valued at $110,670. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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