BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Price Target Raised to $125.00 at Morgan Stanley

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $125.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $102.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $80.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.75.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

BJ stock opened at $116.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 12 month low of $76.33 and a 12 month high of $121.10. The firm has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.71.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.23. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 35.41%. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total transaction of $1,270,960.67. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,351 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,924.09. This trade represents a 32.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.74, for a total transaction of $251,454.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,240 shares in the company, valued at $1,705,097.60. This trade represents a 12.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 328,505 shares of company stock worth $37,452,686 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BJ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 199.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,986,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989,980 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,186,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662,415 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1,230.1% in the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,739,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608,571 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 4th quarter worth approximately $135,344,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 658.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,523,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

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.