Noah Elbogen Sells 7,535 Shares of BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Director Noah Elbogen sold 7,535 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.14, for a total transaction of $528,504.90. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 71,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,025,881.70. This represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of BJRI opened at $66.67 on Friday. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.46 and a fifty-two week high of $74.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $388.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.07 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 2.86%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 15.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after buying an additional 5,013 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in BJ’s Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth approximately $291,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 17,662 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 4,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 291,957 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,021,000 after acquiring an additional 53,574 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 71,617 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BJRI shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.