Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 11,458 Shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) by 238.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,272 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 11,458 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.08% of BJ’s Restaurants worth $572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,305 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 187.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 699 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,904 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 8.6% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,524 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 0.9% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 71,617 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $67.28 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $63.41 and its 200 day moving average is $48.31. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 35.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.22. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.46 and a 1 year high of $74.60.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.04. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 2.86%.The firm had revenue of $388.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.07 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on BJRI shares. Mizuho set a $74.00 price objective on BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Benchmark boosted their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Gregory S. Lynds sold 21,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.81, for a total value of $1,493,452.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,423.70. This trade represents a 46.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lea Anne Ottinger sold 2,792 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total transaction of $149,372.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 39,701 shares in the company, valued at $2,124,003.50. The trade was a 6.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 131,601 shares of company stock valued at $8,033,014 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

About BJ’s Restaurants

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.