Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) from NEUTRAL to OUTPERFORM on August 14, 2014, with a target price of $43.00.
We upgrade our recommendation on BJ's Restaurants Inc. to Outperform from Neutral mainly driven by improved second-quarter 2014 results. Earnings of $0.30 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 25% attributable to improvement in restaurant level margin. Further, revenues were up year over year driven by increased total operating weeks. However, earnings declined 3.2% owing to higher costs and expenses. Nevertheless, we are encouraged by BJ's Restaurants' prudent expansion initiatives to drive comps growth. Additionally, the company's marketing and operational initiatives as well as prudent menu price adjustments are expected to boost sales in the upcoming quarters. The company also remains committed to its target of achieving restaurant level margin of 19.0%, primarily driven by cost savings initiatives focused on non-strategic restaurant operating cost and support.
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
To get a free copy of the research report on BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI),
click here.
For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit
Zacks.com .
Be the first to comment