UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 5,722 Shares of BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Free Report) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,076 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 5,722 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.16% of BJ's Restaurants worth $1,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. US Bancorp DE grew its position in BJ's Restaurants by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,902 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in BJ's Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new position in BJ's Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new stake in BJ's Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BJ's Restaurants Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ BJRI traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 301,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,953. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.76 and a 200 day moving average of $36.60. BJ's Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.61 and a twelve month high of $45.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $956.30 million, a P/E ratio of 63.59, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $347.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $347.70 million. BJ's Restaurants had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 1.23%. The firm's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that BJ's Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BJ's Restaurants news, Director Greg Trojan sold 146,102 shares of BJ's Restaurants stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.63, for a total value of $6,520,532.26. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $887,958.48. The trade was a 88.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 3,738 shares of BJ's Restaurants 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 owns 4,579 shares in the company, valued at $202,941.28. The trade was a 44.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BJRI shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $33.00 price target on shares of BJ's Restaurants and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BJ's Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.20.

BJ's Restaurants 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.