Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ)

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 2,732 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 50% compared to the typical volume of 1,821 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BJ has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $102.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Wholesale Club has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.71.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BJ opened at $110.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.28. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 1 year low of $71.81 and a 1 year high of $118.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $104.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.34.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.29 billion. Analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total value of $1,270,960.67. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,351 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,924.09. This represents a 32.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.41, for a total value of $2,208,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,456,716.28. The trade was a 38.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Wholesale Club

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,357,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,184,175,000 after purchasing an additional 966,528 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 504,958 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,331,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,009,000 after buying an additional 43,106 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake 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 buying an additional 45,288 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,571,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,808,000 after acquiring an additional 73,322 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 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.