BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $43.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on BJRI. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Benchmark lowered shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $38.33.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BJRI opened at $31.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $736.70 million, a PE ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.81. BJ’s Restaurants has a twelve month low of $21.64 and a twelve month high of $38.87.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $349.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $349.18 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 7.93% and a net margin of 2.19%. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.56, for a total value of $56,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,105.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 2.6% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,021 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Boulder Hill Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at $814,000. Institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Restaurants Company Profile

BJ's Restaurants, Inc owns and operates casual dining restaurants in the United States. Its restaurants offer pizzas, craft and other beers, appetizers, entrées, pastas, sandwiches, specialty salads, and desserts. The company was formerly known as Chicago Pizza & Brewery, Inc and changed its name to BJ's Restaurants, Inc in August 2004.