BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Stock Rating Lowered by Melius Research

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) was downgraded by analysts at Melius Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $100.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.24% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on BJ. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Monday, November 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $123.00 price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Barclays downgraded shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Thursday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Wholesale Club has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.67.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BJ opened at $95.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.33. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 52 week low of $86.68 and a 52 week high of $121.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 21st. The company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.07. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.72% and a return on equity of 28.66%. The firm had revenue of $5.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. BJ’s Wholesale Club’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. BJ’s Wholesale Club has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.300-4.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 17,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.71, for a total transaction of $1,605,629.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 296,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,620,096.85. This trade represents a 5.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.09, for a total transaction of $637,630.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 50,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,599,862.82. This represents a 12.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 60.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,225,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,716,000 after purchasing an additional 3,087,151 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,777,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,753,000 after buying an additional 65,159 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 25.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,082,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,941,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028,779 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 31.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,791,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,817,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152,591 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 32.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,272,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,192,000 after buying an additional 809,890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

BJ’s Wholesale Club, headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, is a membership-based warehouse retailer offering a wide range of products and services primarily to small businesses and individual consumers. The company operates large-format clubs that provide value-priced groceries, health and beauty products, electronics, home goods, furniture, seasonal items and automotive supplies. In addition to its in-club offerings, BJ’s features fuel stations at many locations and operates an e-commerce platform for online ordering and home delivery.

Founded in 1984 as a division of Zayre Corp., BJ’s Wholesale Club quickly expanded throughout the Northeastern United States.