Insider Selling: BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Sells $207,864.40 in Stock

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) EVP Kendra Miller sold 2,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.80, for a total transaction of $207,864.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,788,345.80. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ BJRI traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.55. 436,048 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 419,701. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.28. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.32. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $74.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $388.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.07 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair raised BJ’s Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of BJ’s Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BJ’s Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.88.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 187.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 699 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in 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 buying an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in BJ’s Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,305 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,317 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.