Gregory Lynds Sells 21,704 Shares of BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Gregory Lynds sold 21,704 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.81, for a total transaction of $1,493,452.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,770 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,423.70. This represents a 46.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BJRI opened at $69.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $59.01 and a 200 day moving average of $46.44. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 37.19, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.32. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $74.60.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $388.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.07 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BJRI shares. Citigroup lifted 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. Zacks Research upgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $65.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $74.00 target price on BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.88.

Trending Headlines about BJ’s Restaurants

Here are the key news stories impacting BJ’s Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst actions remain supportive. Benchmark raised its price target from $68 to $80 and upgraded the stock to “Buy,” while William Blair moved BJRI to “Outperform.” Zacks also identified BJRI as a highly ranked value stock and included it among stocks benefiting from recent broker upgrades. Zacks value stock article Zacks broker upgrades article
• Positive Sentiment: The latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: earnings per share were $0.94 versus the $0.90 consensus estimate, while revenue of $388.9 million surpassed forecasts of $377.1 million and increased 6.4% year over year. These results provide fundamental support for BJRI, although EPS was below $0.97 in the prior-year quarter.
• Positive Sentiment: Several institutions increased their BJRI holdings during the first quarter, including Bank of America, which raised its position by 73.5%, and Royal Bank of Canada, which increased its stake by 238%. Institutional investors own approximately 99.95% of the shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains cautious overall. BJRI has an average “Hold” recommendation, with five Holds and two Sells compared with four Buy or Strong Buy ratings. The consensus price target is $56.88, below recent trading levels, although individual targets range as high as $80. Average Hold recommendation article
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders have sold heavily as the stock trades near its 52-week high. EVP Gregory S. Lynds sold 21,704 shares on August 6 after selling 25,350 shares on August 3, reducing his holdings by 46.7% in the latest transaction. EVP Kendra D. Miller sold 10,217 shares on August 6 and another 2,978 shares on August 7, cutting her position by 10.4% in the latest sale. The transactions totaled roughly $4.1 million and may reinforce profit-taking concerns.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $200,006,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 576.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,451,883 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,383 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,114,685 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $39,125,000 after purchasing an additional 30,684 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 935,375 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,557,000 after buying an additional 306,930 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 388,779 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,869,000 after buying an additional 156,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

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.