Brokerages Set BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Price Target at $38.63

Shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.63.

Several analysts recently commented on BJRI shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Benchmark cut BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $28.39 on Friday. BJ’s Restaurants has a 12-month low of $21.64 and a 12-month high of $38.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $663.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 2.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $32.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.21. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 2.19%. The business had revenue of $349.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $349.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Bradford Richmond acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.40 per share, with a total value of $73,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $497,007. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 141.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 247.8% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About BJ’s Restaurants

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.