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

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 analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on BJRI. Benchmark raised shares of BJ's Restaurants from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. 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 report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BJ's Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.67.

BJ's Restaurants Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $30.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.71. The stock has a market cap of $684.17 million, a P/E ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.37. BJ's Restaurants has a 1-year low of $28.92 and a 1-year high of $47.02.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.97 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $362.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that BJ's Restaurants will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ's Restaurants

In other BJ's Restaurants news, CAO Jacob Guild sold 9,521 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.51, for a total value of $338,090.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,044.53. This trade represents a 71.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Alex Puchner sold 1,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.06, for a total transaction of $62,023.26. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 10,622 shares in the company, valued at $361,785.32. The trade was a 14.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,458 shares of company stock worth $545,656. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of BJ's Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $254,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 3,594.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,670 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 13,300 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of BJ's Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BJ's Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,350,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in BJ's Restaurants by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 36,076 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,268,000 after buying an additional 5,722 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company's stock.

BJ's Restaurants Company 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.

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