BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $110.82.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $87.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.41, for a total transaction of $2,208,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at $3,456,716.28. The trade was a 38.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 280,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.31, for a total value of $32,052,524.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 422,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,242,592.23. This represents a 39.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 328,505 shares of company stock valued at $37,452,686. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJ. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 504,958 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,331,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,009,000 after purchasing an additional 43,106 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,186,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662,415 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 199.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,986,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,759,000 after buying an additional 1,989,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 73,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Down 0.2 %

BJ’s Wholesale Club stock opened at $117.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $111.97 and its 200-day moving average is $100.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.45 billion, a PE ratio of 28.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.54. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a fifty-two week low of $73.93 and a fifty-two week high of $121.10.

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

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.