Noah Elbogen Sells 4,049 Shares of BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Director Noah Elbogen sold 4,049 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.85, for a total value of $193,744.65. Following the sale, the director directly owned 76,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,844.75. This represents a 5.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Down 0.7%

BJRI traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $46.72. 259,725 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 364,666. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $982.05 million, a PE ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $47.99.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released 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). BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.48% and a net margin of 3.15%.The business had revenue of $358.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $356.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 73.5% during the 1st 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 lifted its position in 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 valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 4,746 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 238.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,272 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 11,458 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 7.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 107,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,761,000 after acquiring an additional 7,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 7.7% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,561 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced 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 report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho lowered their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BJ’s Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

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.