BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Stock Position in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. $BJ

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets sharply increased its BJ’s Wholesale Club stake by 568.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 325,702 shares valued at about $29.3 million.
• Insiders sold shares in mid-April, with SVP Joseph Mcgrail and CEO Robert W. Eddy both reducing their holdings through pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans.
• Analysts remain mixed but slightly constructive: the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” with a $105.27 average price target, while the company recently beat earnings and revenue expectations in its latest quarterly report.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) by 568.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 325,702 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 276,990 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.25% of BJ's Wholesale Club worth $29,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mirabella Financial Services LLP boosted its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 158.2% in the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 21,167 shares of the company's stock worth $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 12,970 shares during the last quarter. Fieldview Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in the third quarter worth approximately $3,671,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. boosted its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 18.9% in the third quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 118,540 shares of the company's stock worth $11,054,000 after acquiring an additional 18,876 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 344,146 shares of the company's stock worth $30,983,000 after acquiring an additional 41,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 3.9% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 670,052 shares of the company's stock worth $62,482,000 after acquiring an additional 25,326 shares during the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ's Wholesale Club

In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 2,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.19, for a total transaction of $186,939.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,769 shares in the company, valued at $1,346,785.11. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.02, for a total value of $728,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 306,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,882,156.60. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on BJ's Wholesale Club from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BJ's Wholesale Club from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America began coverage on BJ's Wholesale Club in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on BJ's Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BJ's Wholesale Club currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.27.

BJ's Wholesale Club Price Performance

BJ stock opened at $88.60 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $93.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.23. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $83.65 and a 52-week high of $115.43.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.44 billion. BJ's Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 26.67% and a net margin of 2.62%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. BJ's Wholesale Club has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

About BJ's Wholesale Club

BJ's Wholesale Club, headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, is a membership-based warehouse retailer offering a wide range of products and services primarily to small businesses and individual consumers. The company operates large-format clubs that provide value-priced groceries, health and beauty products, electronics, home goods, furniture, seasonal items and automotive supplies. In addition to its in-club offerings, BJ's features fuel stations at many locations and operates an e-commerce platform for online ordering and home delivery.

Founded in 1984 as a division of Zayre Corp., BJ's Wholesale Club quickly expanded throughout the Northeastern United States.

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