Insider Selling: BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Sells $207,864.40 in Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Kendra Miller sold 2,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.80, for a total value of $207,864.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,621 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,345.80. This trade represents a 10.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

BJRI opened at $69.55 on Monday. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $74.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $59.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 37.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.32.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.04. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 2.86%.The business had revenue of $388.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BJRI. Mizuho set a $74.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Benchmark boosted their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $65.00 target price 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 given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.88.

Key BJ’s Restaurants News

Here are the key news stories impacting BJ’s Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst actions remain supportive. Benchmark raised its price target from $68 to $80 and upgraded the stock to “Buy,” while William Blair moved BJRI to “Outperform.” Zacks also identified BJRI as a highly ranked value stock and included it among stocks benefiting from recent broker upgrades. Zacks value stock article Zacks broker upgrades article
• Positive Sentiment: The latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: earnings per share were $0.94 versus the $0.90 consensus estimate, while revenue of $388.9 million surpassed forecasts of $377.1 million and increased 6.4% year over year. These results provide fundamental support for BJRI, although EPS was below $0.97 in the prior-year quarter.
• Positive Sentiment: Several institutions increased their BJRI holdings during the first quarter, including Bank of America, which raised its position by 73.5%, and Royal Bank of Canada, which increased its stake by 238%. Institutional investors own approximately 99.95% of the shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains cautious overall. BJRI has an average “Hold” recommendation, with five Holds and two Sells compared with four Buy or Strong Buy ratings. The consensus price target is $56.88, below recent trading levels, although individual targets range as high as $80. Average Hold recommendation article
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders have sold heavily as the stock trades near its 52-week high. EVP Gregory S. Lynds sold 21,704 shares on August 6 after selling 25,350 shares on August 3, reducing his holdings by 46.7% in the latest transaction. EVP Kendra D. Miller sold 10,217 shares on August 6 and another 2,978 shares on August 7, cutting her position by 10.4% in the latest sale. The transactions totaled roughly $4.1 million and may reinforce profit-taking concerns.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $1,274,000 after buying an additional 5,013 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $291,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 17,662 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 4,045 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 291,957 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,021,000 after acquiring an additional 53,574 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.