Trexquant Investment LP Increases Stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 127.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,496 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,890 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.13% of BJ’s Wholesale Club worth $15,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,268,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,775,000 after purchasing an additional 504,958 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,045,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,680,000 after acquiring an additional 45,288 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 73,322 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,330,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,218,000 after acquiring an additional 245,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,215,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,770,000 after purchasing an additional 34,940 shares during the period. 98.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total transaction of $1,270,960.67. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,619,924.09. This represents a 32.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,456,716.28. This trade represents a 38.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

NYSE BJ opened at $115.00 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.81 and a twelve month high of $118.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $105.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.40. The firm has a market cap of $15.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.28.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.29 billion. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 35.41% and a net margin of 2.71%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports 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 company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.94.

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.