Loop Capital Reaffirms Hold Rating for BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ)

Loop Capital reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $80.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $85.00.

A number of other research firms have also commented on BJ. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an equal weight rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Gordon Haskett lowered BJ’s Wholesale Club from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the company from $81.00 to $87.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $74.40.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

BJ opened at $73.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $73.91 and a 200-day moving average of $69.39. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $80.42.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) 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. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 40.84% and a net margin of 2.64%. The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $77,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,459.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $77,370.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,459.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher J. Baldwin sold 73,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $5,402,934.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 173,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,815,091.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,840 shares of company stock valued at $7,408,605. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BJ. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 45.3% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 159.9% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 668 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

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.