BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

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

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BJ traded up $0.93 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $115.81. 549,330 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,600,042. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 12-month low of $71.81 and a 12-month high of $118.40. The company has a market cap of $15.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $105.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BJ. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen raised their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $101.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Wholesale Club has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 $3,456,716.28. This represents a 38.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total value of $1,270,960.67. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,351 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,924.09. This trade represents a 32.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Wholesale Club

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 652.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 624 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.