HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — BJ's Restaurants Inc. (BJRI) on Thursday reported first-quarter earnings of $7.7 million.

On a per-share basis, the Huntington Beach, California-based company said it had profit of 32 cents.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 15 cents per share.

The restaurant chain posted revenue of $337.3 million in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $336.3 million.

BJ's Restaurants shares have fallen nearly 9% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $32.87, a rise of slightly more than 2% in the last 12 months.

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