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

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) had its price target raised by investment analysts at UBS Group from $102.00 to $108.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 11.64% from the stock’s current price.

BJ has been the topic of several other research reports. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America cut their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Wholesale Club presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.50.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

BJ’s Wholesale Club stock opened at $96.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $85.83 and its 200 day moving average is $85.40. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a one year low of $63.73 and a one year high of $97.53. The firm has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 35.41%. The firm had revenue of $5.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.9 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.57, for a total value of $83,570.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,566 shares in the company, valued at $1,133,710.62. This trade represents a 6.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.75, for a total value of $921,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 434,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,413,830. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,000 shares of company stock worth $2,818,390. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 158.9% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,189,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,571,709 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,357,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,184,175,000 after buying an additional 966,528 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 60.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,387,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,929,000 after buying an additional 896,263 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 4,834.5% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 625,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,567,000 after buying an additional 612,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 143.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 848,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,488,000 after buying an additional 499,954 shares during the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.