Benchmark Upgrades BJ's Restaurants to Buy with $44 Price Target

Benchmark has upgraded BJ's Restaurants (BJRI) to Buy from Hold with a $44 price target. This upgrade reflects an improvement in the company's outlook and potential growth prospects. Investors can benefit from TipRanks Premium, which offers advanced data and expert analyst insights to help with investment decisions.

Benchmark has upgraded BJ's Restaurants (BJRI) to a "Buy" rating from "Hold," establishing a $44 price target. This upgrade follows the company's strong second-quarter 2025 financial results, which demonstrated significant margin improvements and steady same-store sales growth [1].

The restaurant chain reported revenue of $365.5 million for the quarter, in line with consensus estimates, while posting same-store sales growth of 2.9% driven by 3.3% traffic growth. Restaurant-level operating margin reached 17.0%, exceeding consensus by 40 basis points. BJ's adjusted earnings per share of $0.97 (including $0.17 of other income) and adjusted EBITDA of $42 million (up 16% year-over-year) surpassed consensus estimates of $0.72 and $39 million, respectively [1].

Analysts at William Blair also increased their full-year earnings estimates for BJ's Restaurants, citing the strong quarterly performance. Despite the positive earnings report, the company's stock experienced a decline during regular trading hours, which may be attributed to broader market sentiment [2].

Insider transactions were notable, with director Greg Trojan selling 146,102 shares of stock, reflecting an 88.01% decrease in ownership following the sale. Additionally, insider Brian S. Krakower sold 3,738 shares of the business's stock. Institutional investors own 99.95% of the company's stock, with AQR Capital Management LLC recently increasing its position by 15.6% [2].

The upgrade by Benchmark reflects an improvement in the company's outlook and potential growth prospects. Investors can benefit from TipRanks Premium, which offers advanced data and expert analyst insights to help with investment decisions.

References:
[1] https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/bjs-restaurants-stock-upgraded-to-buy-at-benchmark-on-margin-improvements-93CH-4168463
[2] https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/bjs-restaurants-nasdaqbjri-announces-quarterly-earnings-results-2025-08-02/