Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 493,006 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,075 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in BJ’s Restaurants were worth $16,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BJRI. Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 0.7% in the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 569,221 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $18,534,000 after buying an additional 4,009 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in BJ’s Restaurants by 27.5% during 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. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of BJ’s Restaurants by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 342,436 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,150,000 after purchasing an additional 40,284 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in BJ’s Restaurants by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 131,876 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,294,000 after buying an additional 12,432 shares during the period. 99.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 2,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total value of $82,342.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $190,068.40. This represents a 30.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BJ’s Restaurants Trading Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ BJRI opened at $34.74 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $792.66 million, a PE ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 2.08. BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.61 and a 12 month high of $38.87. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.93. 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 (NASDAQ:BJRI) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $324.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.16) earnings per share. BJ’s Restaurants’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BJRI. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Restaurants in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of BJ’s Restaurants from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.57.

BJ’s Restaurants 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 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.