BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) Shares Sold by Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust cut its stake in BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Free Report) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 364,031 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 23,878 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned approximately 1.56% of BJ's Restaurants worth $11,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BJ's Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in BJ's Restaurants by 142.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,540 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in BJ's Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in BJ's Restaurants by 247.8% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BJ's Restaurants Stock Down 8.4 %

NASDAQ:BJRI traded down $3.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,044,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 312,953. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $32.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. BJ's Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.25 and a 12-month high of $38.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $794.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 2.10.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. 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 7.98% and a net margin of 2.24%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.16) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BJ's Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ's Restaurants

In other news, CEO C Bradford Richmond bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $29.40 per share, for a total transaction of $73,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 16,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $497,007. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BJRI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of BJ's Restaurants in a research report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark lowered BJ's Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, BJ's Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.00.

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.