BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Gregory Lynds Sells 21,704 Shares of Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Gregory Lynds sold 21,704 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.81, for a total transaction of $1,493,452.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,423.70. The trade was a 46.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ BJRI opened at $69.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 37.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.44. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $74.60.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company had revenue of $388.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.07 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

More BJ’s Restaurants News

Here are the key news stories impacting BJ’s Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst actions remain supportive. Benchmark raised its price target from $68 to $80 and upgraded the stock to “Buy,” while William Blair moved BJRI to “Outperform.” Zacks also identified BJRI as a highly ranked value stock and included it among stocks benefiting from recent broker upgrades. Zacks value stock article Zacks broker upgrades article
• Positive Sentiment: The latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: earnings per share were $0.94 versus the $0.90 consensus estimate, while revenue of $388.9 million surpassed forecasts of $377.1 million and increased 6.4% year over year. These results provide fundamental support for BJRI, although EPS was below $0.97 in the prior-year quarter.
• Positive Sentiment: Several institutions increased their BJRI holdings during the first quarter, including Bank of America, which raised its position by 73.5%, and Royal Bank of Canada, which increased its stake by 238%. Institutional investors own approximately 99.95% of the shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains cautious overall. BJRI has an average “Hold” recommendation, with five Holds and two Sells compared with four Buy or Strong Buy ratings. The consensus price target is $56.88, below recent trading levels, although individual targets range as high as $80. Average Hold recommendation article
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders have sold heavily as the stock trades near its 52-week high. EVP Gregory S. Lynds sold 21,704 shares on August 6 after selling 25,350 shares on August 3, reducing his holdings by 46.7% in the latest transaction. EVP Kendra D. Miller sold 10,217 shares on August 6 and another 2,978 shares on August 7, cutting her position by 10.4% in the latest sale. The transactions totaled roughly $4.1 million and may reinforce profit-taking concerns.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BJRI. CWM LLC grew its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 187.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 699 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 1,618.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 14.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,305 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 77.5% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,317 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the period. 99.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BJRI. Weiss Ratings cut BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $65.00 price target on BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.88.

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.