First Eagle Investment Management LLC Buys 25,796 Shares of BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Free Report) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 199,624 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 25,796 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.86% of BJ's Restaurants worth $7,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its stake in BJ's Restaurants by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 18,007 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,545 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,511 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 141.0% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Factorial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Factorial Partners LLC now owns 16,300 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BJRI shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of BJ's Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of BJ's Restaurants from a "c" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.30.

BJ's Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of BJRI stock traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.71. 712,314 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,032. BJ's Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.64 and a 12 month high of $38.76. The company has a market cap of $858.28 million, a P/E ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 2.12. The company's 50 day moving average price is $34.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.35.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.17. BJ's Restaurants had a net margin of 1.80% and a return on equity of 6.51%. The company had revenue of $337.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 EPS. BJ's Restaurants's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BJ's Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.56, for a total value of $56,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,105.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Alex Puchner sold 7,713 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.25, for a total value of $295,022.25. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $467,491.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.56, for a total transaction of $56,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,652 shares in the company, valued at $272,105.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 251,313 shares of company stock worth $8,950,178 in the last ninety days. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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. The company was formerly known as Chicago Pizza & Brewery, Inc and changed its name to BJ's Restaurants, Inc in August 2004.