BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $37.09, but opened at $35.07. BJ's Restaurants shares last traded at $35.06, with a volume of 122,549 shares changing hands.

The restaurant operator reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $325.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.97 million. BJ's Restaurants had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 2.19%. The company's revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on BJ's Restaurants from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Benchmark downgraded shares of BJ's Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of BJ's Restaurants in a report on Friday. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ's Restaurants

In other news, CEO C Bradford Richmond purchased 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.40 per share, for a total transaction of $73,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 16,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $497,007. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ's Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJRI. 272 Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of BJ's Restaurants during the second quarter worth $1,173,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in BJ's Restaurants by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 296,176 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $10,716,000 after buying an additional 51,364 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,250,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants in the second quarter valued at about $187,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 6.2% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 142,622 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,949,000 after acquiring an additional 8,323 shares during the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BJ's Restaurants Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.85 and a 200 day moving average of $33.44. The company has a market capitalization of $794.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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.