Insider Selling: BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Sells $1,070,911.60 in Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Kendra Miller sold 19,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.60, for a total value of $1,070,911.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,590,104.40. This represents a 40.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Up 2.7%

BJRI stock opened at $54.62 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.35. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $56.21. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $44.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.31.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.48% and a net margin of 3.15%.The business had revenue of $358.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $356.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 576.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,451,883 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,383 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,362,763 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $102,665,000 after purchasing an additional 640,648 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 935,375 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,557,000 after purchasing an additional 306,930 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in BJ’s Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,380,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,863,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BJRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. DA Davidson started coverage on BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

BJ’s Restaurants Company Profile

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.