BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average of $34.53

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $34.53 and traded as high as $35.48. BJ’s Restaurants shares last traded at $35.47, with a volume of 413,343 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BJRI. Barclays increased their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Benchmark increased their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.60.

BJ’s Restaurants Stock Down 2.9 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $838.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 2.13.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $337.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.35 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 6.51% and a net margin of 1.80%. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 1,600 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.56, for a total value of $56,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,652 shares in the company, valued at $272,105.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BJRI. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the first quarter worth about $45,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 141.0% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $95,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,545 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in BJ’s Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

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.