Baird Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. $BJ

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group cut its BJ’s Wholesale Club stake by 95.3% in the second quarter, selling 141,249 shares and retaining 6,957 shares valued at approximately $607,000.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 98.6%, while company insiders sold 87,416 shares worth roughly $8.7 million during the latest quarter.
• BJ’s reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.36 versus the $1.17 consensus and revenue of $6.23 billion. Analysts’ average rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $106.06.

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) by 95.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,957 shares of the company's stock after selling 141,249 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club were worth $607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in BJ's Wholesale Club by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,930,288 shares of the company's stock worth $1,164,114,000 after purchasing an additional 4,704,423 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,087,503,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,514,642 shares of the company's stock worth $586,513,000 after purchasing an additional 737,130 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 3,403,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $306,436,000 after purchasing an additional 297,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in BJ's Wholesale Club by 15.4% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,282,291 shares of the company's stock worth $286,281,000 after buying an additional 436,827 shares during the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 13,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,282,448.85. The trade was a 10.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 73,016 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.02, for a total transaction of $7,303,060.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 282,330 shares in the company, valued at $28,238,646.60. This represents a 20.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 87,416 shares of company stock valued at $8,699,844. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on BJ's Wholesale Club from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on BJ's Wholesale Club from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, William Blair cut shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from a "mixed" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.06.

BJ's Wholesale Club Stock Performance

Shares of BJ opened at $92.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.19. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $83.21 and a one year high of $105.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.18.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 21st. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. BJ's Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 27.40% and a net margin of 2.64%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. BJ's Wholesale Club has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BJ's Wholesale Club Company Profile

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc operates a membership-based warehouse club chain in the United States. The company sells a broad selection of products at discounted prices, including groceries, fresh foods, household essentials, electronics, appliances, furniture, apparel, health and beauty products, and seasonal merchandise.

BJ's also operates gasoline stations at many of its locations and offers services such as optical, tire, and hearing-aid centers at select clubs. Its business combines physical warehouse clubs with digital shopping options, including online ordering, delivery, and curbside pickup where available.

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