Royal Bank of Canada Grows Holdings in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI

Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) by 238.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 16,272 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 11,458 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in BJ’s Restaurants were worth $572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BJRI. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 114.7% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 74,958 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,953,000 after purchasing an additional 40,037 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,148,000. Burney Co. purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,990,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,724,000. Finally, Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,107,000. 99.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Restaurants

In related news, EVP Kendra D. Miller sold 2,978 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.80, for a total value of $207,864.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,788,345.80. This trade represents a 10.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 7,341 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.17, for a total value of $405,002.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,457.57. This trade represents a 60.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 131,601 shares of company stock valued at $8,033,014 over the last three months. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

BJRI stock opened at $67.28 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.46 and a 12-month high of $74.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 35.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.32.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.04. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 2.86%.The business had revenue of $388.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BJRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $65.00 price objective on BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho set a $74.00 price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.