BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Raised to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, signaling increased confidence in the company's future performance.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on BJRI, with two ratings as "buy," three as "hold," and two as "sell," resulting in an average rating of "hold" and a consensus price target of $39.67.
• In its latest quarterly earnings report, BJ's Restaurants reported an EPS of $0.97, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.28, and revenue increased by 4.5% year-over-year to $365.60 million.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Benchmark upgraded shares of BJ's Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.67.

BJ's Restaurants Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of BJRI traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 611,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 517,975. The stock has a market cap of $664.26 million, a PE ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. BJ's Restaurants has a 52 week low of $28.92 and a 52 week high of $47.02. The company's fifty day moving average price is $35.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.52.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.28. BJ's Restaurants had a net margin of 1.99% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $365.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that BJ's Restaurants will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Heidi Rogers sold 4,116 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $145,541.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $252,611.84. This represents a 36.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jacob Guild sold 9,521 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.51, for a total value of $338,090.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,803 shares in the company, valued at $135,044.53. This trade represents a 71.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,458 shares of company stock worth $545,656. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ's Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in BJ's Restaurants by 103.2% in the first quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 1,700,780 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $58,269,000 after purchasing an additional 863,749 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 824,597 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $36,777,000 after purchasing an additional 51,062 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 233.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 628,445 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,029,000 after purchasing an additional 440,078 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its position in BJ's Restaurants by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 593,478 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $26,469,000 after acquiring an additional 15,151 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in BJ's Restaurants by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 523,687 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $23,359,000 after acquiring an additional 25,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company's stock.

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.