BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Issues Earnings Results

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ – Get Rating) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.01, Yahoo Finance reports. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 53.66%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BJ opened at $63.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.64. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a fifty-two week low of $53.86 and a fifty-two week high of $80.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Bank of America lowered their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $87.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $89.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $65.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Wholesale Club currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jeff Desroches sold 7,059 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.09, for a total transaction of $544,178.31. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 84,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,538,927.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BJ. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 180.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,615,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684,174 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 145.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,422,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,792,000 after buying an additional 1,436,785 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 4th quarter valued at $89,816,000. Eaton Vance Management grew its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 323.5% in the 1st quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 1,719,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,230,000 after buying an additional 1,313,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 118.0% in the 1st quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,548,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,795,000 after purchasing an additional 838,036 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.72% of the company’s stock.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

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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.