Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 122,517 Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. $BJ

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 27.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 319,890 shares of the company’s stock after selling 122,517 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club were worth $31,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dean Capital Management raised its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 23,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 4,260 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 63,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,271,000 after buying an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 1st quarter worth $23,942,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 1st quarter worth $1,135,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 94,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,288,000 after buying an additional 13,387 shares in the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BJ opened at $97.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $89.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.55. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.21 and a fifty-two week high of $110.92. The firm has a market cap of $12.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.22.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.44 billion. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 26.67%. BJ’s Wholesale Club’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. BJ’s Wholesale Club has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BJ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Bank of America began coverage on BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.27.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, EVP Scott Schmadeke sold 16,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.17, for a total transaction of $1,520,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,886,812.07. This represents a 44.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Company Profile

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.