BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Hits New 12-Month High Following Strong Earnings

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $112.27 and last traded at $111.43, with a volume of 671599 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.09.

The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.07. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 35.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BJ shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.24.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BJ. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,357,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,184,175,000 after buying an additional 966,528 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 3.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,439,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $531,118,000 after buying an additional 217,385 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,268,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,775,000 after purchasing an additional 504,958 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,331,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,009,000 after buying an additional 43,106 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,045,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,680,000 after acquiring an additional 45,288 shares in the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $14.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $98.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.28.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc engages in the operation of membership warehouse clubs. Its product categories include grocery, household and pet, television and electronics, furniture, computer and tablets, patio and outdoor living, lawn and garden, baby and kids, toys, home, health and beauty, appliances, and jewelry.