Emerald Advisers LLC Has $18.64 Million Stock Position in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI

Emerald Advisers LLC reduced its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 530,999 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 20,623 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings in BJ’s Restaurants were worth $18,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 187.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 699 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 939 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 1,618.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 971 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 77.5% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,317 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lea Anne Ottinger sold 2,792 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total value of $149,372.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 39,701 shares in the company, valued at $2,124,003.50. The trade was a 6.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 7,341 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.17, for a total transaction of $405,002.97. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $260,457.57. This represents a 60.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 63,817 shares of company stock worth $3,384,688 over the last ninety days. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BJRI has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup reduced their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $62.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.31. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $63.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.74 and its 200-day moving average is $43.11.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.04). BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.48% and a net margin of 3.15%.The company had revenue of $358.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $356.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

About BJ’s Restaurants

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.