Factors to Decide the Fate of BJ's Wholesale (BJ) in Q4 Earnings
BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. BJ is likely to register an increase in the bottom line when it reports fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 results on Mar 3, before the market opens. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share for the quarter has increased by a penny to 75 cents over the past seven days, and suggests an increase of 7.1% from the year-ago period.
This operator of membership warehouse clubs has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 17.7%, on average. In the last reported quarter, this Westborough-based company’s bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a margin of 12.4%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $4,406 million, indicating an improvement of 11.7% from the prior-year reported figure.
BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. Quote
Factors to Note
BJ's Wholesale’s focus on simplifying assortments, boosting marketing and merchandising capabilities, expanding into high-demand categories and building an own-brands portfolio is commendable. The company remains committed to enhancing omni-channel capabilities and providing value to customers. These endeavors have been contributing to growth in membership signups and renewals.
The company has been directing resources toward expanding digital capabilities in order to better engage with members and provide them a convenient way to shop, including same-day delivery, curbside pick-up and buy-online, pickup-in-club. Management believes that digitally engaged members have higher average baskets and make more trips per year than members who shop in-club only.
Clearly, BJ's Wholesale’s better pricing, private label offerings, merchandise initiatives and digital solutions are likely to have favorably impacted the to-be-reported quarter’s performance. On its last earnings call, management had guided low single-digit growth in comps for the fourth quarter.
Well, margins still remain an area to watch. Inflation as well as freight costs, along with meaningful investments in labor and incremental COVID-related safety and sanitation expenses, might have weighed on margins. Supply chain and sourcing challenges are likely to have impacted the to-be-reported quarter’s performance. Management had forecast merchandise gross margin rate pressure of approximately 50 basis points for the final quarter.
What the Zacks Model Unveils
Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for BJ's Wholesale Club this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
BJ's Wholesale Club has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +0.33%.
3 More Stocks With Favorable Combination
Here are three other companies you may want to consider as our model shows that these too have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:
DICK'S Sporting Goods DKS currently has an Earnings ESP of +4.86% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is expected to register bottom-line growth when it reports fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings per share of $3.39 suggests growth of 39.5% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
DICK'S Sporting Goods’ top line is anticipated to rise year over year. The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $3.31 billion, indicating an increase of 6% from the year-ago quarter. DKS has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 104.2%, on average.
Casey's General Stores CASY currently has an Earnings ESP of +5.19% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is likely to register an increase in the bottom line when it reports third-quarter fiscal 2022 numbers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings per share of $1.45 suggests an increase of 39.4% from the year-ago reported number.
Casey's top line is expected to increase year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $3.06 billion, which suggests an increase of 52.3% from the prior-year quarter. CASY has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 20.1%, on average.
Costco COST currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.75% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is likely to register bottom-line improvement when it reports second-quarter fiscal 2022 numbers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings per share of $2.67 suggests an increase of 24.8% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
Costco's top line is expected to rise year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $51.05 billion, which indicates an improvement of 14% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. COST has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.3%, on average.
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BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (BJ) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) : Free Stock Analysis Report
DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. (DKS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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