BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Price Target Raised to $48.00 at Benchmark

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) had its target price raised by Benchmark from $44.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Benchmark’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 15.31% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on BJRI. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $30.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Performance

BJRI traded up $0.75 during trading on Thursday, reaching $41.63. 66,639 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 325,596. The company has a market capitalization of $880.02 million, a P/E ratio of 31.07, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.87. BJ’s Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $28.46 and a fifty-two week high of $47.02.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $355.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.71 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 2.23%.BJ’s Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BJ’s Restaurants declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 11.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 8,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $317,553.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,640.49. This represents a 64.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC boosted its position in 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 lifted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 939 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 1,618.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. 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.