BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) Short Interest Down 14.3% in December

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,880,000 shares, a decline of 14.3% from the December 15th total of 8,030,000 shares. Currently, 5.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BJ. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.00.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.47, for a total transaction of $940,170.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 423,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,221,502.24. This represents a 2.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 158.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,189,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,044,000 after buying an additional 2,571,709 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,357,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,184,175,000 after acquiring an additional 966,528 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $196,929,000 after acquiring an additional 896,263 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised 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 purchasing an additional 612,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 143.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 848,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,488,000 after purchasing an additional 499,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

NYSE:BJ traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.01. 813,677 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,166,463. 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 1 year low of $64.06 and a 1 year high of $100.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.32.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.29. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 35.41%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Company Profile

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.