BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Price Target Increased to $36.00 by Analysts at Barclays

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $33.00 to $36.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup increased their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. TheStreet upgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a c rating to a b- rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Stephens restated an equal weight rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $38.30.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Up 5.9 %

BJRI stock traded up $1.92 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 885,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 336,328. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.66. BJ’s Restaurants has a 12 month low of $21.64 and a 12 month high of $38.76. The company has a market capitalization of $810.82 million, a PE ratio of 34.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.17. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 1.80% and a return on equity of 6.56%. The firm had revenue of $337.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $335.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Restaurants

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 141.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the third quarter valued at $67,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the third quarter valued at about $95,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $95,000. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.