BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $62.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BJRI. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Zacks Research cut BJ’s Restaurants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Mizuho raised shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, November 9th.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

BJRI stock traded up $0.88 on Friday, reaching $55.77. The company had a trading volume of 636,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 564,219. The company’s fifty day moving average is $59.60 and its 200 day moving average is $51.62. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.26. BJ’s Restaurants has a 1 year low of $33.36 and a 1 year high of $74.60.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $358.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $346.68 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Restaurants

In other news, Director C Richmond bought 753 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $47,627.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 35,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,245,375. The trade was a 2.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BJRI. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 34.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 774 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 3.9% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 11,348 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter worth $28,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter worth $31,000. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BJ’s Restaurants

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. operates casual-dining restaurants under the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse name. The company traces its roots to 1978, when it began as BJ’s Chicago Pizzeria in California. Its menu includes deep-dish and other pizzas, burgers, salads, pasta, ribs, appetizers and desserts, including its signature Pizookie. Restaurants also offer a selection of handcrafted beers alongside other beverages. BJ’s serves guests through restaurants in multiple U.S. states, with locations combining a broad food menu and beer offerings in a casual dining setting.