BJ's Restaurants (BJRI) Expand in NY With Restaurant Opening
BJ's Restaurants, Inc. BJRI recently announced the opening of its restaurant in Rochester, NY. This marks the company’s first restaurant in Rochester and the fourth restaurant in New York.
The restaurant in Henrietta covers 7,500 square feet and seats approximately 250 guests. It also features BJ’s extensive menu, including BJ’s signature deep-dish pizza, handcrafted beer and Pizookie dessert.
The management remains optimistic with the new restaurant opening. Also, it emphasized the expansion momentum to continue with a new restaurant opening in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in October 2023.
Increased Focus on Expansion
Year to date (through Apr 4, 2023), the company has opened two new restaurants (in Orland Park, Illinois and San Antonio, TX) and reported solid sales concerning the same. The company expects to open three new restaurants in fiscal 2023 for five restaurant openings. It also emphasizes expanding its remodel initiative to about 35-40 restaurants in fiscal 2023, of which more than 20 remodels have been completed as of the fiscal second quarter.
The company remains steadfast in its commitment to expand its presence to at least 425 restaurants domestically. Given the level of new restaurant expansion combined with driving positive comparable restaurant sales, the company expects high-single-digit revenue growth for the coming years.
Price Performance
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Shares of BJ's Restaurants have gained 7.6% so far this year compared with the industry’s 4.3% growth. The company has benefited from solid growth in comparable restaurant sales, expansion and sales-boosting initiatives. Also, menu innovation bodes well. Going forward, the company intends to focus on the menu that improves its daily execution by increasing the repetition of guest favorites and reducing preparation time. BJ’s Restaurants expects these characteristics to grant it growth in sales and margins in the coming period. Earnings estimates for 2023 have increased in the past 30 days, depicting analysts' optimism regarding the stock growth potential.
Zacks Rank & Key Restaurant Picks
BJ's Restaurants currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Some other top-ranked stocks in the Zacks Retail – Restaurants industry are:
Kura Sushi USA, Inc. KRUS sports a Zacks Rank #1. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 139.7% on average. Shares of KRUS have increased by 12.4% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KRUS’s 2023 sales and EPS indicates 33.4% and 300% growth, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. ARCO currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). ARCO has a long-term earnings growth rate of 11.4%. The stock has gained 32% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Arcos Dorados’ 2023 sales and EPS indicates 19.2% and 13% growth, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
Chuy's Holdings, Inc. CHUY carries a Zacks Rank #2. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 26.6% on average. Shares of CHUY have increased by 62.1% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CHUY’s 2023 sales and EPS indicate an increase of 9.5% and 32.9%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
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BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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