BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $52.97 and traded as high as $62.74. BJ’s Restaurants shares last traded at $61.66, with a volume of 513,249 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BJRI. William Blair upgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $65.00 price target on BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Benchmark boosted their price objective 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, Weiss Ratings raised shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.12.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Down 3.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.16.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $388.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gregory S. Lynds sold 21,704 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.81, for a total value of $1,493,452.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,704,423.70. This represents a 46.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director C Richmond purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $61.05 per share, with a total value of $30,525.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 36,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,228,325. This trade represents a 1.39% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 67,784 shares of company stock valued at $4,648,326. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $200,006,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $9,476,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in BJ’s Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,724,000. Meros Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,715,047. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,516,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Restaurants Company Profile

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc operates casual dining restaurants under the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse brand. The company’s restaurants offer a broad menu that includes deep-dish pizza, burgers, sandwiches, salads, pasta, steaks, seafood, and other American-style entrees.

BJ’s is also known for its handcrafted beer and signature Pizookie dessert, a warm, freshly baked cookie typically served with ice cream. Its restaurants generally combine full-service dining with an in-house brewery or a selection of proprietary and seasonal beer offerings.

The company traces its history to 1978, when its first restaurant opened in Southern California.