Short Interest in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) Expands By 16.2%

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,380,000 shares, a growth of 16.2% from the November 15th total of 7,210,000 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.47, for a total value of $940,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 423,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,221,502.24. This trade represents a 2.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Wholesale Club

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 10.7% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the third quarter worth $828,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 99.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 764,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,151,000 after buying an additional 382,114 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 3.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,439,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $531,118,000 after buying an additional 217,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 123.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BJ. Roth Mkm raised their target price on 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. TD Cowen upped their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Wholesale Club currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.56.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

NYSE BJ traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $98.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 780,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,503,374. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.14. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 1-year low of $64.06 and a 1-year high of $100.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $90.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.29.

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