BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Coverage Initiated at Melius Research

Analysts at Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.96% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital raised their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.31.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $81.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 312,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,523,074. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.76. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a one year low of $63.08 and a one year high of $92.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.09. The stock has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.24.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 36.12%. BJ’s Wholesale Club’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In related news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.57, for a total transaction of $83,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,133,710.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.40, for a total value of $873,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 445,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,395,884.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.57, for a total transaction of $83,570.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,133,710.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,438 shares of company stock valued at $6,980,938 over the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 394.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 628 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 103.6% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Company Profile

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.