Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $2.50 Million in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 81,921 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,501,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned approximately 0.37% of BJ’s Restaurants as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 233.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 628,445 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,029,000 after buying an additional 440,078 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $13,380,000. JCP Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter worth $5,575,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,771,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,499,000. Institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $39.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 8,017 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $317,553.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,640.49. This trade represents a 64.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

BJRI traded up $0.29 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 357,994. The firm has a market capitalization of $896.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $47.02.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $330.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.86 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 2.23%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BJ’s Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 11.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

BJ’s Restaurants Profile

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.