BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• BJ's Wholesale Club was downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in market sentiment.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for BJ's stock, with a consensus target price of $111.06 based on MarketBeat.com data.
• In recent insider transactions, Director Steven L. Ortega increased their shareholding by purchasing 1,740 shares, while EVP Paul Cichocki sold 58,436 shares at an average price of $110.08.

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

BJ has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BJ's Wholesale Club currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.06.

BJ's Wholesale Club Stock Performance

BJ opened at $103.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $107.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.86. BJ's Wholesale Club has a 1 year low of $76.33 and a 1 year high of $121.10. The stock has a market cap of $13.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Insider Transactions at BJ's Wholesale Club

In other news, Director Steven L. Ortega purchased 1,740 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $114.60 per share, with a total value of $199,404.00. Following 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul Cichocki sold 58,436 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.08, for a total transaction of $6,432,634.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,563,100.16. The trade was a 33.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 138,061 shares of company stock valued at $15,027,745 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large 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% in 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 buying an additional 1,989,980 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 65.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,186,760 shares of the company's stock worth $477,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662,415 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club during the second quarter worth about $178,952,000. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 1,230.1% during the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,739,337 shares of the company's stock worth $198,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 449.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,126,001 shares of the company's stock worth $128,477,000 after purchasing an additional 921,139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company's stock.

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.

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