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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BJ has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen raised 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, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of 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 increased their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.47, for a total value of $940,170.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 423,792 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BJ. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 375.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 394.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 628 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE BJ traded up $0.58 on Friday, hitting $95.01. 813,677 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,670,598. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a twelve month low of $64.06 and a twelve month high of $100.74. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $93.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.32. 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 (NYSE:BJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict 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.