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

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,880,000 shares, a decrease 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 daily trading volume, of 1,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on BJ. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Melius Research began coverage on BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

BJ’s Wholesale Club stock traded up $0.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.01. The company had a trading volume of 813,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,166,463. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.32. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 1-year low of $64.06 and a 1-year high of $100.74.

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 return on equity of 35.41% and a net margin of 2.71%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In related news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.47, for a total transaction of $940,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 423,792 shares in the company, valued at $36,221,502.24. The trade was a 2.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 34,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after buying an additional 8,736 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 151.2% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1,978.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 49,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,424,000 after acquiring an additional 47,135 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

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.