Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 176,325 Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. $BJ

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 176,325 shares and leaving it with 608,156 shares valued at about $54.8 million.
• BJ's Wholesale Club reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.96 versus $0.93 estimated and revenue of $5.58 billion, up 5.6% year over year.
• Two top executives, including CEO Robert W. Eddy, sold shares in April under pre-arranged trading plans, while analysts currently have a mixed outlook with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $107.63.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) by 22.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 608,156 shares of the company's stock after selling 176,325 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.46% of BJ's Wholesale Club worth $54,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BJ. Ossiam bought a new position in BJ's Wholesale Club during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $100,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 81.0% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,824 shares of the company's stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 3,054 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. bought a new position in BJ's Wholesale Club during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,094,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 276,115 shares of the company's stock worth $29,773,000 after acquiring an additional 66,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas bought a new position in BJ's Wholesale Club during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $105,000. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company's stock.

BJ's Wholesale Club Stock Performance

Shares of BJ opened at $92.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.75. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.68 and a twelve month high of $120.08. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $95.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.28. The firm has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.27.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. BJ's Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.70% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. BJ's Wholesale Club has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 2,050 shares of BJ's Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.19, for a total value of $186,939.50. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 BJ's Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.02, for a total transaction of $728,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 306,330 shares in the company, valued at $27,882,156.60. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Evercore reissued a "positive" rating on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $139.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.63.

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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