AlphaQuest LLC Trims Stake in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. $BJ

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC has reduced its holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club by 66.6%, selling 7,006 shares, leaving it with 3,514 shares valued at $401,000.
• Many institutional investors are active in BJ's stock, with Kestra Advisory Services LLC increasing its stake by 173.9% in the first quarter, now owning 16,280 shares valued at $1,858,000.
• BJ's Wholesale Club recently reported $1.14 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations, but its quarterly revenue was slightly below consensus estimates at $5.38 billion.

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) by 66.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,514 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,006 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club were worth $401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BJ. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in BJ's Wholesale Club by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,150,463 shares of the company's stock worth $102,794,000 after buying an additional 256,480 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 923.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 405,276 shares of the company's stock worth $36,163,000 after acquiring an additional 365,658 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 73,211 shares of the company's stock worth $6,541,000 after acquiring an additional 11,370 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,582 shares of the company's stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 30,238 shares of the company's stock worth $2,702,000 after acquiring an additional 12,040 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BJ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on BJ's Wholesale Club from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating and set a $120.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Roth Capital reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $106.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on BJ's Wholesale Club from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $113.18.

Insider Activity at BJ's Wholesale Club

In related news, EVP Paul Cichocki sold 58,436 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.08, for a total transaction of $6,432,634.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,563,100.16. This trade represents a 33.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 17,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.08, for a total value of $1,916,732.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 368,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,441,097.64. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 120,161 shares of company stock valued at $13,023,303 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

BJ's Wholesale Club Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:BJ traded up $1.01 during trading on Monday, hitting $97.80. The company had a trading volume of 2,087,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,673,396. The stock has a market cap of $12.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.40. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $76.33 and a one year high of $121.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.17.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. BJ's Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 30.40% and a net margin of 2.77%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. BJ's Wholesale Club has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

BJ's Wholesale Club Profile

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.