River Global Investors LLP Cuts Stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

River Global Investors LLP cut its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 30.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,810 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,160 shares during the quarter. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club were worth $787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 159.9% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 23.9% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 824 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the fourth quarter valued at about $78,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 4th quarter valued at about $88,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

BJ traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $73.98. 1,261,856 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,804,149. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.27. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.33 and a 1-year high of $80.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 40.84% and a net margin of 2.64%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BJ. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.40.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In related news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $77,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,459.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, EVP Monica Schwartz sold 13,578 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.81, for a total transaction of $1,070,082.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,545 shares in the company, valued at $1,067,481.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $77,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,905 shares in the company, valued at $998,459.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,840 shares of company stock valued at $7,408,605 in the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.