BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Short Interest Update

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,090,000 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the May 15th total of 1,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 363,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days. Currently, 9.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

BJ’s Restaurants Price Performance

BJRI stock opened at $34.25 on Wednesday. BJ’s Restaurants has a 52-week low of $21.64 and a 52-week high of $38.76. 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 stock has a market cap of $800.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 2.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.36.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $337.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BJ’s Restaurants will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Restaurants

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 92,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,319,000 after acquiring an additional 26,722 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in BJ’s Restaurants by 298.7% during the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 141,556 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,097,000 after purchasing an additional 106,054 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 37,173 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 327,259 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,785,000 after buying an additional 4,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millrace Asset Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the third quarter valued at $1,200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark raised their price objective on BJ’s Restaurants from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.30.

BJ’s Restaurants Company Profile

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.