Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Makes New Investment in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. $BJ

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. has invested approximately $1.03 million in BJ's Wholesale Club by acquiring 9,000 shares during the first quarter of the year.
• Insider trading activity was noted as EVP Paul Cichocki sold 58,436 shares for over $6.4 million, while Director Steven L. Ortega increased his position by purchasing shares worth around $199,000.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mixed outlook for BJ's, with Citigroup lowering their price target to $120, while UBS maintains a "buy" rating with a target of $135.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. purchased a new position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,025,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJ. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 44,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,028,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 0.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 965,633 shares of the company's stock worth $110,179,000 after buying an additional 8,157 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 9.3% in the first quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 6,431 shares of the company's stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT raised its holdings in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 2.2% during the first quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 11,558 shares of the company's stock worth $1,319,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 27.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 480,701 shares of the company's stock worth $54,848,000 after acquiring an additional 103,665 shares in the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BJ's Wholesale Club Stock Performance

NYSE:BJ traded down $9.0860 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.0740. The stock had a trading volume of 9,135,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,061,989. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.33 and a twelve month high of $121.10. The stock has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $107.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.77.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. BJ's Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $5.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. BJ's Wholesale Club has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BJ shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on BJ's Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on BJ's Wholesale Club from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded BJ's Wholesale Club from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on BJ's Wholesale Club from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $106.00 price objective (up previously from $101.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ's Wholesale Club

In other BJ's Wholesale Club news, EVP Paul Cichocki sold 58,436 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.08, for a total value of $6,432,634.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,127 shares in the company, valued at $12,563,100.16. This trade represents a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 17,900 shares of BJ's Wholesale Club stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.08, for a total transaction of $1,916,732.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,061 shares of company stock worth $15,027,745 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.