BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) Short Interest Down 15.4% in March

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,460,000 shares, a drop of 15.4% from the February 28th total of 7,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently, 5.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock traded up $3.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $118.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,773,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,603,833. The business has a fifty day moving average of $106.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.54. The firm has a market cap of $15.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.54. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a fifty-two week low of $71.81 and a fifty-two week high of $118.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.14.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.29 billion. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 35.41%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,456,716.28. This trade represents a 38.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total value of $1,270,960.67. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,619,924.09. This represents a 32.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BJ. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,330,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,218,000 after purchasing an additional 245,731 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the third quarter worth about $828,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 129.0% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 38,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,215,000 after acquiring an additional 21,957 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 278.6% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 53,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,822,000 after acquiring an additional 39,713 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $307,000. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BJ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $80.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $102.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Wholesale Club has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.82.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Company Profile

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.