Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,241,050 shares of the company's stock after selling 325,003 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.94% of BJ's Wholesale Club worth $110,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BJ's Wholesale Club in the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 624 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 198.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 863 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in BJ's Wholesale Club by 151.2% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BJ. 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on BJ's Wholesale Club from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on BJ's Wholesale Club from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on BJ's Wholesale Club from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on BJ's Wholesale Club from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.88.

BJ's Wholesale Club Price Performance

BJ traded down $2.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $101.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,653,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,514,770. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 0.32. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.53 and a twelve month high of $108.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $97.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.12 billion. BJ's Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 35.41%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BJ's Wholesale Club Company 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.