BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) PT Raised to $45.00 at Benchmark

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Benchmark from $41.00 to $45.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 29.76% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. TheStreet upgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.30.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Up 5.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $34.68 on Friday. BJ’s Restaurants has a 1 year low of $21.64 and a 1 year high of $38.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.52 and its 200 day moving average is $32.72. The company has a market cap of $810.82 million, a PE ratio of 34.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 2.12.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $337.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.35 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 6.56% and a net margin of 1.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc sold 242,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total value of $8,598,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,326,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,659,692.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other BJ’s Restaurants news, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc sold 242,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total value of $8,598,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,326,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,659,692.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Alex Puchner sold 7,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.25, for a total transaction of $295,022.25. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $467,491.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,595,522 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $60,891,000 after purchasing an additional 8,763 shares during the period. RK Capital Management LLC raised its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. RK Capital Management LLC now owns 341,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,301,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 327,259 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,785,000 after acquiring an additional 4,163 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 271,651 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,373,000 after acquiring an additional 37,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 199,624 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,188,000 after acquiring an additional 25,796 shares during the period. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BJ’s Restaurants Company Profile

BJ's Restaurants, Inc owns and operates casual dining restaurants in the United States. Its restaurants offer pizzas, craft and other beers, appetizers, entrées, pastas, sandwiches, specialty salads, and desserts. The company was formerly known as Chicago Pizza & Brewery, Inc and changed its name to BJ's Restaurants, Inc in August 2004.