BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Short Interest Down 6.8% in October

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,790,000 shares, a decline of 6.8% from the October 15th total of 1,920,000 shares. Currently, 8.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 365,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $34.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $780.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 2.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.69. BJ’s Restaurants has a fifty-two week low of $27.61 and a fifty-two week high of $38.87.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $325.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.97 million. BJ’s Restaurants had a net margin of 2.24% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.16) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark cut BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total transaction of $82,342.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $190,068.40. This represents a 30.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Bradford Richmond acquired 2,500 shares of BJ’s Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.40 per share, with a total value of $73,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 16,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $497,007. The trade was a 17.36 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 2.6% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,760 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 764.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 813 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 29,089 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 142.9% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 under brand name Pizookie. The company was formerly known as Chicago Pizza & Brewery, Inc and changed its name to BJ’s Restaurants, Inc in August 2004.