BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $116.12.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Argus raised shares of BJ's Wholesale Club to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $109.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven L. Ortega bought 1,740 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $114.60 per share, for a total transaction of $199,404.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,641 shares in the company, valued at $990,258.60. The trade was a 25.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul Cichocki sold 43,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total transaction of $4,673,936.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 172,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,403,843.95. This represents a 20.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 79,625 shares of company stock worth $8,595,110 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ's Wholesale Club

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BJ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in BJ's Wholesale Club by 199.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,986,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989,980 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 65.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,186,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662,415 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 1,230.1% in the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,739,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608,571 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in the fourth quarter valued at $135,344,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 658.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,523,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company's stock.

BJ's Wholesale Club Stock Down 1.3%

BJ's Wholesale Club stock traded down $1.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $104.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,552,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,685,460. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. BJ's Wholesale Club has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $121.10. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $111.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.04.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.18 billion. BJ's Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that BJ's Wholesale Club will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.