Short Interest in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) Decreases By 7.7%

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,230,000 shares, a decrease of 7.7% from the May 31st total of 12,170,000 shares. Currently, 8.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeff Desroches sold 14,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,116.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 87,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,507,284. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were 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 owns 12,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,459.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeff Desroches sold 14,106 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,116.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,294 shares in the company, valued at $7,507,284. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,684 shares of company stock valued at $4,160,168. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 4th quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel bought a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the 4th quarter worth about $80,000. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of BJ stock traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $86.10. The company had a trading volume of 700,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,504,150. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 1-year low of $62.28 and a 1-year high of $90.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $11.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.30 and a 200 day moving average of $74.97.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.86 billion. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 37.78% and a net margin of 2.59%. The company’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.91 EPS for the current year.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

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.