BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BJRI. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $74.00 target price on BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, William Blair raised shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.88.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of BJRI opened at $59.60 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.69. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.22. BJ’s Restaurants has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $74.60.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The business had revenue of $388.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Restaurants

In related news, EVP Gregory S. Lynds sold 21,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.81, for a total transaction of $1,493,452.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,423.70. This trade represents a 46.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Noah A. Elbogen sold 7,535 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.14, for a total value of $528,504.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 71,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,025,881.70. The trade was a 9.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 67,784 shares of company stock worth $4,648,326 in the last ninety days. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BJRI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,006,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,114,685 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $39,125,000 after acquiring an additional 30,684 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 73.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 324,588 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,393,000 after acquiring an additional 137,511 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,724,000. Finally, Meros Investment Management LP purchased a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $8,715,047. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About BJ’s Restaurants

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc operates casual dining restaurants under the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse brand. Its restaurants offer a broad menu that includes deep-dish and tavern-style pizzas, burgers, salads, sandwiches, pasta, entrees, desserts and other American-style cuisine.

The company is also known for its handcrafted beer program, which includes a range of house-brewed beers served alongside its food offerings. BJ’s restaurants generally combine full-service dining with a casual, family-friendly atmosphere and operate in locations across the United States.

BJ’s Restaurants traces its origins to 1978, when its first location opened in Southern California.