Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Stock

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $94.00 to $101.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded BJ’s Wholesale Club from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Down 3.3 %

BJ opened at $94.32 on Wednesday. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 52 week low of $64.06 and a 52 week high of $100.74. The company has a market capitalization of $12.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $90.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.29. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 35.41% and a net margin of 2.71%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.47, for a total transaction of $940,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 423,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,221,502.24. This trade represents a 2.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 9.3% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 2.5% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 5.2% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 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.