BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $94.00.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BJ shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Melius Research initiated coverage on BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.47, for a total transaction of $940,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 423,792 shares in the company, valued at $36,221,502.24. This represents a 2.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BJ. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 2,571,709 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,357,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,184,175,000 after buying an additional 966,528 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 60.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,387,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,929,000 after buying an additional 896,263 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 4,834.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 625,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,567,000 after buying an additional 612,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 499,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

BJ opened at $89.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $91.93 and a 200-day moving average of $87.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.76. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 52-week low of $64.06 and a 52-week high of $100.74. The company has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.29.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.29. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 35.41% and a net margin of 2.71%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.