Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ)

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 2,732 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 50% compared to the average daily volume of 1,821 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In related news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total value of $1,270,960.67. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,351 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,924.09. This trade represents a 32.67 % 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.41, for a total value of $2,208,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,456,716.28. This represents a 38.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BJ’s Wholesale Club

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 652.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BJ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective 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. Barclays increased their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $80.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $108.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.71.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BJ traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $110.30. 357,158 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,758,499. The company has a market cap of $14.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a one year low of $71.81 and a one year high of $118.40.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.29 billion. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 35.41%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc engages in the operation of membership warehouse clubs. Its product categories include grocery, household and pet, television and electronics, furniture, computer and tablets, patio and outdoor living, lawn and garden, baby and kids, toys, home, health and beauty, appliances, and jewelry.