BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Stock Price Up 2.6% – Still a Buy?

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)’s share price was up 2.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $114.99 and last traded at $114.87. Approximately 503,207 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 1,592,979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on BJ. UBS Group raised their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $108.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $87.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.71.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Up 2.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $15.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.93.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.07. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 35.41%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.29 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total value of $1,270,960.67. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,619,924.09. This trade represents a 32.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.41, for a total value of $2,208,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,456,716.28. This trade represents a 38.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,268,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,775,000 after buying an additional 504,958 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,331,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,009,000 after acquiring an additional 43,106 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,045,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,680,000 after purchasing an additional 45,288 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,571,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,808,000 after purchasing an additional 73,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,486,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,205,000 after purchasing an additional 99,311 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc engages in the operation of membership warehouse clubs. Its product categories include grocery, household and pet, television and electronics, furniture, computer and tablets, patio and outdoor living, lawn and garden, baby and kids, toys, home, health and beauty, appliances, and jewelry.