BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Stock Rating Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded BJ’s Wholesale Club from “buy” to “hold.” Despite the downgrade, analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $106.06.
• BJ reported quarterly earnings of $1.36 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.17, while revenue rose 15.7% year over year to $6.23 billion. Management provided fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $4.60–$4.80.
• The stock opened at $105.73, near its 52-week high of $107.73, while insiders sold approximately $29.5 million in shares during the prior quarter. Institutional investors own 98.6% of the company.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BJ. William Blair downgraded BJ's Wholesale Club from a "mixed" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, August 14th. Gordon Haskett raised BJ's Wholesale Club from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. DA Davidson set a $108.00 price objective on BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $97.00 target price on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.06.

BJ's Wholesale Club Stock Performance

Shares of BJ stock opened at $105.73 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $95.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.73. BJ's Wholesale Club has a 52 week low of $83.21 and a 52 week high of $107.73. The firm has a market cap of $13.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.17.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 21st. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.19. BJ's Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 27.40% and a net margin of 2.62%. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. BJ's Wholesale Club has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BJ's Wholesale Club will post 4.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BJ's Wholesale Club

In related news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.65, for a total transaction of $144,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,282,448.85. The trade was a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Laura L. Felice sold 8,452 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.95, for a total value of $887,037.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 84,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,859,459.20. The trade was a 9.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 291,452 shares of company stock worth $29,541,597 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ's Wholesale Club

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in the second quarter valued at $27,242,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in BJ's Wholesale Club in the 1st quarter worth about $1,135,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 19.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 396,598 shares of the company's stock worth $39,033,000 after purchasing an additional 64,942 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in BJ's Wholesale Club in the second quarter worth about $108,684,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its holdings in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 10,728.2% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 302,324 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,369,000 after purchasing an additional 299,532 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company's stock.

BJ's Wholesale Club Company Profile

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc operates membership-based warehouse clubs in the United States. The company sells a wide selection of groceries, fresh foods, household essentials, electronics, furniture, appliances, apparel, health and beauty products, and other general merchandise. Its business model is built around offering products in bulk and at discounted prices to members.

BJ's also operates gas stations at many of its warehouse clubs and provides services such as optical centers, tire centers, home improvement services, and online grocery fulfillment in select locations.

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