Brokerages Set BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Target Price at $39.25

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.25.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. BidaskClub downgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Thursday, May 25th. Canaccord Genuity raised shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 target price (down previously from $44.00) on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Saturday, July 22nd.

In other BJ’s Restaurants news, VP Kevin E. Mayer sold 4,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.46, for a total value of $203,115.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,440.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Alex Puchner sold 7,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.80, for a total transaction of $323,943.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,505.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,793 shares of company stock valued at $1,035,319 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $1,590,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 0.6% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 27,137 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 14.1% in the first quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 85,624 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,459,000 after buying an additional 10,600 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $527,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment Corp IL increased its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 3.5% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment Corp IL now owns 80,620 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,257,000 after buying an additional 2,730 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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BJ’s Restaurants (BJRI) traded down 1.30% during midday trading on Monday, hitting $34.25. 1,492,002 shares of the company traded hands. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.27. BJ’s Restaurants has a 12-month low of $32.24 and a 12-month high of $47.55. The company has a market capitalization of $738.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 1.10.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The restaurant operator reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $257.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $255.66 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 4.29% and a return on equity of 14.86%. BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants will post $1.79 EPS for the current year.

BJ’s Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 27th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

BJ’s Restaurants Company Profile

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc owns and operates restaurants. The Company segment includes casual dining company-owned restaurants. Each of its restaurants is operated either as a BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, a BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery, a BJ’s Pizza & Grill or a BJ’s Grill restaurant. The Company’s restaurants offer craft beers and other beers, as well as a selection of appetizers, entrees, pastas, burgers and sandwiches, specialty salads, and desserts, including its warm pizza cookie dessert, the Pizookie.