Squarepoint Ops LLC Has $2.33 Million Holdings in BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI)

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Free Report) by 47.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,367 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 59,430 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.29% of BJ's Restaurants worth $2,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $4,502,000. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 583,828 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $20,513,000 after purchasing an additional 14,607 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position 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 worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 7,712 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 229,029 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $8,047,000 after purchasing an additional 19,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 147.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 259,977 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $9,134,000 after purchasing an additional 155,109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at BJ's Restaurants

In related news, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 3,738 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $202,941.28. This represents a 44.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg Trojan sold 146,102 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $887,958.48. This trade represents a 88.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BJRI. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $33.00 price objective on shares of BJ's Restaurants and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.20.

BJ's Restaurants Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of BJRI stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.60. 505,479 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 370,932. BJ's Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.61 and a 1-year high of $45.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $986.37 million, a PE ratio of 65.59, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.47.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $347.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.70 million. BJ's Restaurants had a net margin of 1.23% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BJ's Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

About BJ's Restaurants

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.