BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Stock Rating Cut to "Neutral" at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup downgraded BJ’s Wholesale Club from “Buy” to “Neutral” and set a $113 price target, implying about 1.4% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: MarketBeat reports an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a $106.19 average price target, with nine Buy and nine Hold ratings among the analysts surveyed.
• BJ’s latest quarter beat expectations, reporting $1.36 in EPS versus $1.17 forecast and $6.23 billion in revenue versus $5.97 billion expected; revenue rose 15.7% year over year.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $113.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup's price objective points to a potential upside of 1.40% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on BJ's Wholesale Club from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Finally, William Blair lowered shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from a "mixed" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.19.

BJ's Wholesale Club Stock Up 0.5%

BJ opened at $111.44 on Friday. BJ's Wholesale Club has a twelve month low of $83.21 and a twelve month high of $113.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.83. The company has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.12.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 21st. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. BJ's Wholesale Club's 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. Sell-side analysts expect that BJ's Wholesale Club will post 4.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ's Wholesale Club

In other news, EVP Laura Felice sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.53, for a total transaction of $1,105,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,416 shares in the company, valued at $9,330,500.48. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $285,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 50,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,765,200. This represents a 5.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 228,436 shares of company stock valued at $23,343,836. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ's Wholesale Club

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. boosted its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 1,704 shares of the company's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. increased its holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 106,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,800,000 after purchasing an additional 22,179 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in BJ's Wholesale Club in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,124,000. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in BJ's Wholesale Club in the third quarter valued at approximately $251,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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