HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — BJ's Restaurants Inc. (BJRI) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter net income of $4 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

The Huntington Beach, California-based company said it had net income of 17 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 7 cents per share.

The restaurant chain posted revenue of $344.2 million in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $344 million.

For the year, the company reported net income of $4.1 million, or 17 cents per share, swinging to a profit in the period. Revenue was reported as $1.28 billion.

BJ's Restaurants shares have climbed 31% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $34.58, rising slightly in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BJRI at https://www.zacks.com/ap/BJRI

For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, STATS Perform dba Automated Insights., source Associated Press News