BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Jefferies Financial Group Analyst Says

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) had its price target raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $105.00 to $110.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $76.00 to $78.00 in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.88.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Up 7.9 %

Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock opened at $92.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.15. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 1 year low of $63.73 and a 1 year high of $94.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $85.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.20. The stock has a market cap of $12.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.24.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 36.12%. The company had revenue of $5.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.57, for a total transaction of $83,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,133,710.62. The trade was a 6.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.47, for a total transaction of $940,170.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 423,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,221,502.24. This trade represents a 2.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,818,390. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 158.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,189,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,044,000 after acquiring an additional 2,571,709 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,357,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,184,175,000 after acquiring an additional 966,528 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,387,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,929,000 after purchasing an additional 896,263 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 4,834.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 625,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,567,000 after purchasing an additional 612,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 143.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 848,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,488,000 after purchasing an additional 499,954 shares during the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.