Zacks Research Downgrades BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) to Hold

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

BJRI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $65.00 price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 31st. William Blair upgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.88.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

BJRI opened at $59.60 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.03 and a 200 day moving average of $50.69. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. BJ’s Restaurants has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $74.60.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $388.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Restaurants

In related news, EVP Gregory S. Lynds sold 25,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $1,710,364.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,135,600.78. This represents a 35.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kendra D. Miller sold 10,217 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.31, for a total transaction of $708,140.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,982,196.69. The trade was a 26.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,784 shares of company stock worth $4,648,326. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $200,006,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,114,685 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $39,125,000 after buying an additional 30,684 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 73.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 324,588 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,393,000 after buying an additional 137,511 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $5,724,000. Finally, Meros Investment Management LP bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,715,047. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Restaurants Company Profile

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc operates casual dining restaurants under the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse brand. Its restaurants offer a broad menu that includes deep-dish and tavern-style pizzas, burgers, salads, sandwiches, pasta, entrees, desserts and other American-style cuisine.

The company is also known for its handcrafted beer program, which includes a range of house-brewed beers served alongside its food offerings. BJ’s restaurants generally combine full-service dining with a casual, family-friendly atmosphere and operate in locations across the United States.

BJ’s Restaurants traces its origins to 1978, when its first location opened in Southern California.