BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $63.91 and last traded at $60.60, with a volume of 326337 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $61.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BJRI shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Down 1.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.39. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.31.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $358.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $356.97 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 13.48%. BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Restaurants

In other BJ’s Restaurants news, Director Noah A. Elbogen sold 4,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $251,208.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 76,235 shares in the company, valued at $4,116,690. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gregory S. Lynds sold 6,201 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.86, for a total transaction of $346,387.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,474 shares in the company, valued at $2,596,037.64. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 63,817 shares of company stock valued at $3,384,688 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BJRI. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 187.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 699 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 1,618.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 939 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 14.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,305 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. 99.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.