Insider Buying: BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Director Buys $47,627.25 in Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Director C Bradford Richmond acquired 753 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $47,627.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 35,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,245,375. This represents a 2.17% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

C Bradford Richmond also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, September 2nd, C Bradford Richmond bought 500 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $61.05 per share, for a total transaction of $30,525.00.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $60.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.33. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $74.60.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $388.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.07 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. Research analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Mizuho set a $74.00 price target on BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised 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. Benchmark lifted their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $65.00 price objective on BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 15.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 5,013 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $291,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 29.7% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 17,662 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 4,045 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 22.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 291,957 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,021,000 after purchasing an additional 53,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 71,617 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

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.