BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Receives Hold Rating from Loop Capital

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by equities researchers at Loop Capital in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $120.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $110.00. Loop Capital’s target price suggests a potential upside of 2.90% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $102.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $130.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Argus raised shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.75.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Up 0.6%

BJ’s Wholesale Club stock opened at $116.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $114.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.91. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a twelve month low of $76.33 and a twelve month high of $121.10.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 35.41% and a net margin of 2.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total transaction of $1,270,960.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,619,924.09. The trade was a 32.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,208,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 328,505 shares of company stock valued at $37,452,686 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BJ. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 10.6% during the fourth 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 period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 0.8% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,366,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,219,000 after buying an additional 35,130 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 65.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,186,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662,415 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 29.8% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,228,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,393,000 after acquiring an additional 741,782 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 199.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,986,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,759,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989,980 shares in the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.