BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Rating Increased to Buy at The Goldman Sachs Group

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $87.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $81.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.65% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $84.00 to $80.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (down previously from $73.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.53.

BJ's Wholesale Club Price Performance

Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club stock traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $76.55. 1,554,776 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,378,379. The company has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.10. BJ's Wholesale Club has a fifty-two week low of $60.33 and a fifty-two week high of $78.97.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.38 billion. BJ's Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 40.84%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BJ's Wholesale Club will post 3.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BJ's Wholesale Club news, Director Christopher J. Baldwin sold 73,062 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total transaction of $5,402,934.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 173,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,815,091.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of BJ's Wholesale Club

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BJ. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 39.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,013,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,142,898,000 after purchasing an additional 4,548,963 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club by 180.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,615,939 shares of the company's stock worth $173,071,000 after buying an additional 1,684,174 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club by 145.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,422,594 shares of the company's stock worth $163,792,000 after buying an additional 1,436,785 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in BJ's Wholesale Club during the fourth quarter worth $89,816,000. Finally, Eaton Vance Management increased its holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club by 323.5% during the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 1,719,134 shares of the company's stock worth $116,230,000 after buying an additional 1,313,206 shares during the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BJ's Wholesale Club Company Profile

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates warehouse clubs on the eastern half of the United States. It provides groceries, general merchandise, gasoline and other ancillary services, coupon books, and promotions. The company sells its products through the websites BJs.com, BerkleyJensen.com, and Wellsleyfarms.com, as well as the mobile app.