BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.75.

Several research firms recently issued reports on BJRI. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings lowered BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of BJ’s Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $36.22 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $765.51 million, a PE ratio of 30.44, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $31.87 and its 200 day moving average is $37.18. BJ’s Restaurants has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $47.02.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $330.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $335.86 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 1.99%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.13) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

BJ’s Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $75.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 11.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Heidi Rogers sold 4,116 shares of the business’s 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 owned 7,144 shares in the company, valued at $252,611.84. The trade was a 36.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Alex Puchner sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.06, for a total value of $62,023.26. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 10,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,785.32. This trade represents a 14.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 15,458 shares of company stock valued at $545,656 over the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth about $254,000. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $842,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $310,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $1,350,000. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $494,000. Institutional investors 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.