BJ’s Restaurants, Inc.’s BJRI top and bottom lines both surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the second quarter of 2018. Adjusted earnings of 79 cents surpassed the consensus estimate of 64 cents by 23.4%. Earnings surged 61.2% year over year favored by improved comps and restaurant operating margins.
Total quarterly revenues of $287.6 million topped the consensus estimate of $283 million by 1.6%. Revenues also grew 8.2% year over year on the back of increased guest traffic and comps. BJ Restaurants’ Daily Brewhouse Specials, Slow Roast menu items and growing off-premise sales led to a 5.6% year-over-year increase in comps and 2.5% in traffic. Comps growth compared favorably with 4.2% increase in the first quarter of 2018 and 1.4% decrease in the year-ago quarter.
BJ's Restaurants, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Notably, BJ’s Restaurants’ shares have returned 76.1% in the past year, outperforming the industry’s 4.1% growth.
Expenses & Operating Margins
Labor costs, as a percentage of sales, increased 10 basis points (bps) to 35.5% in the reported quarter, while occupancy and operating costs were 20.5%, down 10 bps year over year.
Restaurant-level operating margin was 19%, up 120 bps from the year-ago quarter. In order to counter high costs prevalent in the industry, the company is undertaking various cost-saving and efficiency initiatives to drive margins.
Balance Sheet
As of Jul 3, 2018, cash and cash equivalents were $19.4 million compared with $24.3 million on Jan 2, 2018.
Total debt declined to $110 million at the end of quarter from $163.5 million as of year-end 2017.
During the quarter, the company repurchased approximately 24,000 shares of common stock at approximately $1.1 million. Additionally, the company declared a cash dividend of 11 cents per share of common stock payable on Aug 27, 2018 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Aug 13, 2018.
Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
Currently, BJ’s Restaurants carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other top-ranked stocks in the industry include Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. TAST, Denny's Corp. DENN and Papa Murphy's Holdings, Inc. FRSH. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Currently, Papa Murphy's Holdings, Inc. sports a Zacks Rank #1. The company surpassed the consensus mark in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 280.21%.
Carrols also holds a Zacks Rank #1. The company surpassed the consensus estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, recording an average surprise of 14.46%.
Denny's also carries Zacks Rank #1. The company surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 9.32%.
5 Medical Stocks to Buy Now
Zacks names 5 companies poised to ride a medical breakthrough that is targeting cures for leukemia, AIDS, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia and other conditions.
New products in this field are already generating substantial revenue and even more wondrous treatments are in the pipeline. Early investors could realize exceptional profits.
Click here to see the 5 stocks >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Be the first to comment