Bank of America Begins Coverage on BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ)

Research analysts at Bank of America started coverage on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.96% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on BJ. Evercore reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, February 20th. William Blair reiterated a “mixed” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $139.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.53.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of BJ traded down $1.35 on Wednesday, reaching $95.69. The stock had a trading volume of 108,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,905,174. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.75. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 12-month low of $86.68 and a 12-month high of $120.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.39.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 2.70%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. BJ’s Wholesale Club has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.02, for a total transaction of $728,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 306,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,882,156.60. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 2,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.19, for a total transaction of $186,939.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,346,785.11. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJ. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 147.9% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the third quarter worth about $34,000. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.