BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Lowered to “Hold” at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $71.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $79.00.

BJ has been the topic of several other reports. Credit Suisse Group reduced their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut BJ’s Wholesale Club from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $72.00.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock opened at $69.16 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.62. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 52 week low of $60.33 and a 52 week high of $80.41. The company has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 22nd. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.07. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 47.80% and a net margin of 2.61%. The business had revenue of $4.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William C. Werner sold 890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.47, for a total transaction of $64,498.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,127,501.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Jeff Desroches sold 33,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.88, for a total transaction of $2,337,373.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 80,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,571,152.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.47, for a total value of $64,498.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,127,501.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 119,853 shares of company stock valued at $8,390,091. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Wholesale Club

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BJ. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the first quarter valued at approximately $268,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 44.3% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,203 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 104.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 5,607 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.4% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $843,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.7% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 74,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,143,000 after purchasing an additional 5,272 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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 perishable, general merchandise, gasoline, coupon books, promotions, and other ancillary services. The company sells its products through the websites BJs.com, BerkleyJensen.com, and Wellsleyfarms.com, as well as the mobile app.