BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Price Target Raised to $105.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) had its price target raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $95.00 to $105.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Melius Research assumed coverage on BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised BJ’s Wholesale Club from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.94.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BJ opened at $86.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $84.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.15. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 1-year low of $63.08 and a 1-year high of $92.37. The company has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.24.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 36.12% and a net margin of 2.62%. The company had revenue of $5.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. BJ’s Wholesale Club’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BJ’s Wholesale Club 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,133,710.62. This trade represents a 6.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.40, for a total value of $873,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 445,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,395,884.80. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,818,390. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BJ. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 33,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,548,000 after buying an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 104,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,920,000 after purchasing an additional 4,004 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,983,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,118,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,946,000 after purchasing an additional 56,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 98,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,794 shares in the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.