BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $85.93.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BJ shares. Barclays raised their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:BJ opened at $82.77 on Friday. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 52 week low of $63.08 and a 52 week high of $92.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $87.52 and its 200-day moving average is $80.49. The firm has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.23.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 37.78%. The business had revenue of $5.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. BJ’s Wholesale Club’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In related news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.90, for a total transaction of $955,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 467,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,651,124.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.90, for a total transaction of $955,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 467,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,651,124.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeff Desroches sold 14,106 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,116.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 87,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,507,284. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 81,544 shares of company stock valued at $7,237,084 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJ. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 158.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,189,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,044,000 after buying an additional 2,571,709 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,646,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,994,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,136,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,385,000 after purchasing an additional 590,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 143.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 848,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,488,000 after purchasing an additional 499,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates warehouse clubs on the eastern half of the United States. It provides groceries, general merchandise, gasoline and other ancillary services, coupon books, and promotions. The company sells its products through the websites BJs.com, BerkleyJensen.com, and Wellsleyfarms.com, as well as the mobile app.