BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Kendra Miller Sells 2,978 Shares

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Kendra Miller sold 2,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.80, for a total transaction of $207,864.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,788,345.80. This trade represents a 10.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $69.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.32. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $74.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $377.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting BJ’s Restaurants

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

• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst actions remain supportive. Benchmark raised its price target from $68 to $80 and upgraded the stock to “Buy,” while William Blair moved BJRI to “Outperform.” Zacks also identified BJRI as a highly ranked value stock and included it among stocks benefiting from recent broker upgrades. Zacks value stock article Zacks broker upgrades article
• Positive Sentiment: The latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: earnings per share were $0.94 versus the $0.90 consensus estimate, while revenue of $388.9 million surpassed forecasts of $377.1 million and increased 6.4% year over year. These results provide fundamental support for BJRI, although EPS was below $0.97 in the prior-year quarter.
• Positive Sentiment: Several institutions increased their BJRI holdings during the first quarter, including Bank of America, which raised its position by 73.5%, and Royal Bank of Canada, which increased its stake by 238%. Institutional investors own approximately 99.95% of the shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains cautious overall. BJRI has an average “Hold” recommendation, with five Holds and two Sells compared with four Buy or Strong Buy ratings. The consensus price target is $56.88, below recent trading levels, although individual targets range as high as $80. Average Hold recommendation article
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders have sold heavily as the stock trades near its 52-week high. EVP Gregory S. Lynds sold 21,704 shares on August 6 after selling 25,350 shares on August 3, reducing his holdings by 46.7% in the latest transaction. EVP Kendra D. Miller sold 10,217 shares on August 6 and another 2,978 shares on August 7, cutting her position by 10.4% in the latest sale. The transactions totaled roughly $4.1 million and may reinforce profit-taking concerns.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJRI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $200,006,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 576.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,451,883 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,383 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 935,375 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,557,000 after purchasing an additional 306,930 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $13,380,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in BJ’s Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,863,000. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BJRI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on 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. DA Davidson set a $65.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. 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, Mizuho set a $74.00 target price on BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.88.

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.