Evercore ISI Raises BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Price Target to $86.00

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) had its price objective raised by Evercore ISI from $80.00 to $86.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on BJ. Loop Capital restated a hold rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Gordon Haskett upgraded BJ’s Wholesale Club from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded BJ’s Wholesale Club from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Wholesale Club presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $81.18.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

BJ stock opened at $88.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $88.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $76.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.86. The company has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.27.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 37.78% and a net margin of 2.59%. The company had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. BJ’s Wholesale Club’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other news, Director Christopher J. Baldwin sold 73,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $5,402,934.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 173,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,815,091.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $77,370.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,459.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 173,294 shares in the company, valued at $12,815,091.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,640 shares of company stock valued at $7,394,087. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the first quarter valued at $378,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 183.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after purchasing an additional 15,813 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the first quarter valued at about $140,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the first quarter valued at about $776,000. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 47,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is 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.