Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Stock

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $105.00 to $110.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.70% from the company’s previous close.

BJ has been the topic of several other research reports. Melius Research began coverage on BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm increased their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Wholesale Club currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.50.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

NYSE:BJ opened at $96.75 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $85.83 and its 200-day moving average is $85.34. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 52-week low of $63.73 and a 52-week high of $97.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.24.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 36.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.57, for a total transaction of $83,570.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,133,710.62. This trade represents a 6.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.40, for a total transaction of $873,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 445,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,395,884.80. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,000 shares of company stock worth $2,818,390 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 10.7% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 99.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 764,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,151,000 after purchasing an additional 382,114 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,439,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $531,118,000 after purchasing an additional 217,385 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 96.8% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,501,000 after purchasing an additional 9,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the second quarter worth about $589,000. 98.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.