BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Lifted to Buy at Gordon Haskett

Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. Gordon Haskett currently has $90.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Loop Capital reissued a hold rating and set a $80.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 increased their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $81.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $81.18.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

BJ stock opened at $88.14 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.86. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 12-month low of $60.33 and a 12-month high of $88.35. The firm has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 37.78%. The firm had revenue of $4.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In related news, Director Christopher J. Baldwin sold 73,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total transaction of $5,402,934.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 173,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,815,091.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.70, for a total value of $843,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 500,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,410,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher J. Baldwin sold 73,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total transaction of $5,402,934.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 173,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,815,091.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 98,640 shares of company stock valued at $7,394,087 in the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Wholesale Club

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 812,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,180,000 after acquiring an additional 20,820 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 4th quarter valued at $892,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 54,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,603,000 after purchasing an additional 17,024 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the 4th quarter worth $5,745,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the 4th quarter worth $2,883,000. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

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.