FY2024 EPS Forecast for BJ's Restaurants Boosted by Analyst

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Free Report) - Equities researchers at William Blair increased their FY2024 earnings estimates for BJ's Restaurants in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, January 20th. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $1.25 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $1.23. The consensus estimate for BJ's Restaurants' current full-year earnings is $1.26 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for BJ's Restaurants' Q4 2024 earnings at $0.34 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.54 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.45 EPS.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 company 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%. BJ's Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.16) earnings per share.

BJRI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Gordon Haskett upgraded BJ's Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on BJ's Restaurants from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer cut BJ's Restaurants from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of BJ's Restaurants in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.00.

BJ's Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BJRI traded up $0.75 during trading on Thursday, hitting $35.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 150,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 209,089. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $818.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.69 and a 200-day moving average of $33.93. BJ's Restaurants has a 12 month low of $27.61 and a 12 month high of $38.87.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ's Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in BJ's Restaurants by 764.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 813 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in BJ's Restaurants by 7.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,284 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in BJ's Restaurants by 27.1% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,620 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at BJ's Restaurants

In other BJ's Restaurants news, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 2,313 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,339 shares in the company, valued at $190,068.40. This trade represents a 30.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.