Zacks Research Expects Reduced Earnings for BJ’s Restaurants

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research cut their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for BJ’s Restaurants in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, November 14th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $1.25 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $1.43. The consensus estimate for BJ’s Restaurants’ current full-year earnings is $1.26 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for BJ’s Restaurants’ Q1 2025 earnings at $0.38 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.58 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.43 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.44 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.45 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.15 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.71 EPS.

BJ’s Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.15). BJ’s Restaurants had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 2.24%. The company had revenue of $325.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on BJ’s Restaurants from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark cut BJ’s Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.57.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $34.93 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $797.10 million, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. BJ’s Restaurants has a 12 month low of $27.61 and a 12 month high of $38.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Restaurants

In other news, CEO C Bradford Richmond acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.40 per share, with a total value of $73,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 16,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $497,007. This represents a 17.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total transaction of $82,342.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $190,068.40. The trade was a 30.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BJRI. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 528.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 155,383 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,059,000 after buying an additional 130,676 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in BJ’s Restaurants during the third quarter valued at $4,310,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 27.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 529,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $18,360,000 after purchasing an additional 114,008 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $3,250,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $2,602,000. 99.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.