Riverwater Partners LLC Grows Position in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Riverwater Partners LLC grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,577 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club were worth $1,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BJ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 4th quarter valued at about $135,344,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 658.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,523,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,100,000 after buying an additional 1,322,425 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,550,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,268,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,775,000 after acquiring an additional 504,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,330,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,218,000 after acquiring an additional 245,731 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BJ. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup raised shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Wholesale Club presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,619,924.09. The trade was a 32.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 14,192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.64, for a total value of $1,669,546.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,071,933.32. This represents a 35.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,005 shares of company stock worth $5,148,708. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Down 2.5 %

BJ opened at $115.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $106.88 and its 200-day moving average is $95.94. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.81 and a 52-week high of $120.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.54.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.07. The firm 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%. Analysts expect that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Profile

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.