BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Stock Rating Cut to “Neutral” at Citigroup

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) was downgraded by equities researchers at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $113.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 1.40% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BJ’s Wholesale Club has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.19.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

NYSE BJ opened at $111.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $97.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.83. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 1-year low of $83.21 and a 1-year high of $113.35.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 21st. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.97 billion. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 27.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. BJ’s Wholesale Club has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.600-4.800 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 4.70 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 8,000 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $832,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 258,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,866,320. This trade represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $285,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 50,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,765,200. This represents a 5.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 228,436 shares of company stock worth $23,343,836 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJ. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. raised its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 20.5% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 26.3% during the third quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 106,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,800,000 after purchasing an additional 22,179 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the third quarter worth $1,124,000. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the third quarter valued at $251,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Company Profile

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc operates membership-based warehouse clubs in the United States. The company sells a wide selection of groceries, fresh foods, household essentials, electronics, furniture, appliances, apparel, health and beauty products, and other general merchandise. Its business model is built around offering products in bulk and at discounted prices to members.

BJ’s also operates gas stations at many of its warehouse clubs and provides services such as optical centers, tire centers, home improvement services, and online grocery fulfillment in select locations.