BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $32.76, but opened at $36.11. BJ’s Restaurants shares last traded at $36.40, with a volume of 231,522 shares traded.

The restaurant operator reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.17. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 6.56% and a net margin of 1.80%. The firm had revenue of $337.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on BJRI. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, February 16th. TheStreet upgraded BJ’s Restaurants from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on BJ’s Restaurants from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc sold 242,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total value of $8,598,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,326,476 shares in the company, valued at $82,659,692.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc sold 242,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total value of $8,598,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,326,476 shares in the company, valued at $82,659,692.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Alex Puchner sold 7,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.25, for a total value of $295,022.25. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,222 shares in the company, valued at $467,491.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 49.8% in the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 136,252 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 45,267 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 15.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 271,651 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,373,000 after purchasing an additional 37,173 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 73.1% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 62,432 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 26,364 shares in the last quarter. Millrace Asset Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the third quarter worth about $1,200,000. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the third quarter worth about $549,000. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $810.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.68, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.52 and a 200-day moving average of $32.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.42.

About BJ’s Restaurants

BJ's Restaurants, Inc owns and operates casual dining restaurants in the United States. Its restaurants offer pizzas, craft and other beers, appetizers, entrées, pastas, sandwiches, specialty salads, and desserts. The company was formerly known as Chicago Pizza & Brewery, Inc and changed its name to BJ's Restaurants, Inc in August 2004.