Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,362,763 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 640,648 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 15.20% of BJ’s Restaurants worth $102,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 6.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 824,597 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,777,000 after acquiring an additional 51,062 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 233.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 628,445 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,029,000 after purchasing an additional 440,078 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 523,687 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $23,359,000 after purchasing an additional 25,892 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 323,573 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,879,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $13,380,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 8,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $317,553.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $174,640.49. This trade represents a 64.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays increased their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho upped their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

BJRI stock opened at $35.16 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $745.39 million, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.95. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $47.02.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The restaurant operator reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 13.82%. The firm had revenue of $355.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

BJ’s Restaurants Profile

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.