Morgan Stanley Raises BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Price Target to $98.00

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on BJ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised BJ’s Wholesale Club from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.25.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Up 1.6 %

BJ opened at $98.33 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.61. The company has a market capitalization of $13.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.24. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a 1-year low of $63.73 and a 1-year high of $99.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.47, for a total transaction of $940,170.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 423,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,221,502.24. This represents a 2.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 33,000 shares of company stock worth $2,734,820 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,357,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,184,175,000 after purchasing an additional 966,528 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 158.9% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,189,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,044,000 after acquiring an additional 2,571,709 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,045,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,680,000 after acquiring an additional 45,288 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,387,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,929,000 after acquiring an additional 896,263 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.