BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Now Covered by DA Davidson

DA Davidson started coverage on shares of BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $38.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on BJRI. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho boosted their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.38.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

BJ’s Restaurants stock traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $35.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 648,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,890. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $745.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.94. BJ’s Restaurants has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $47.02.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $355.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.71 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 13.82%. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director C Bradford Richmond acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.50 per share, with a total value of $34,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,650. The trade was a 5.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 8,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $317,553.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,640.49. The trade was a 64.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BJRI. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $3,942,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 394.5% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 309,269 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,185,000 after acquiring an additional 246,733 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,863,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in BJ’s Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $5,912,000. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about BJ’s Restaurants

Here are the key news stories impacting BJ’s Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company director C. Bradford Richmond increased his stake with two recent purchases (1,200 shares on Mar 3 at $35.10 and 1,000 shares on Mar 6 at $34.50). Combined, these buys raise insider ownership and can be interpreted as management confidence in the stock’s near-term outlook. Mar 3 SEC Filing Mar 6 SEC Filing InsiderTrades Article
• Neutral Sentiment: DA Davidson initiated coverage with a “neutral” rating and a $38 price target (roughly mid-single-digit upside from current levels). New coverage can increase trading interest but does not shift consensus sentiment materially. Benzinga Coverage Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in recent reports shows zeros/NaN (data error or reporting lag) and a 0.0 days-to-cover figure — this appears to be a reporting artifact rather than a meaningful change in short activity. Investors should watch for corrected short-interest releases. (No external link available in the feed.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarterly results (Feb. 25) beat EPS and revenue expectations modestly; that fundamental beat supports the longer-term case but didn’t prevent intraday weakness amid higher volume. For background on results and analyst targets, see the MarketBeat summary. MarketBeat BJRI Summary

BJ’s Restaurants Company Profile

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc is a publicly traded casual dining chain known for its deep‐dish pizzas, California‐style thin crust offerings and in‐house craft beer selections. Operating under the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse brand, the company combines a microbrewery concept with full‐service dining, offering an extensive menu that includes appetizers, salads, pasta dishes, sandwiches and the signature Pizookie dessert.

Founded in 1978 in Orange County, California, BJ’s Restaurants began as BJ’s Chicago Pizzeria, bringing a Chicago‐style pizza experience to the West Coast.