Insider Selling: BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Sells 5,537 Shares of Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Gregory Lynds sold 5,537 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.76, for a total transaction of $281,058.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,359,020.24. The trade was a 10.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock traded up $0.80 on Friday, reaching $52.62. The stock had a trading volume of 446,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 368,610. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.46 and a 1 year high of $53.53. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.28.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $358.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $356.97 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 13.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BJRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 137,511 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 31.7% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 19,737 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 4,746 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 238.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,272 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 11,458 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 7.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 107,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,761,000 after acquiring an additional 7,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 7.7% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,561 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.