BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Trading Down 4.4% Following Insider Selling

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)’s stock price dropped 4.4% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $71.86 and last traded at $71.97. Approximately 1,586,578 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 12% from the average daily volume of 1,418,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.28.

Specifically, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $77,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,459.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Christopher J. Baldwin sold 73,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $5,402,934.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 173,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,815,091.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $77,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,459.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,840 shares of company stock valued at $7,408,605. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BJ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Gordon Haskett cut shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down previously from $73.00) on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $87.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.40.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.37. The company has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.73.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.05. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 40.84%. The company had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.91 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJ. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the first quarter worth $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 45.3% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 491 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 159.9% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 668 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 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.