S&P upgrades BJ's Wholesale

S&P said it raised the ratings on BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings Inc., including its issuer credit rating, to B+ from B.

The higher ratings reflect a forecasted improvement in BJ's operating performance, stemming from the company's strategic initiatives, such as automatic membership renewals, disciplined cost management and omni-channel investments, S&P said.

The upgrades also consider a decreasing ownership stake in the company by financial sponsors that reduces their influence in the company's financial policy decisions, the agency said.

The company reported good growth in its membership base, S&P said, and revenues and profits on successful operating initiatives.

S&P said it believes current performance trends are sustainable and will likely lead to continued de-leveraging.

The stable outlook reflects an expectation for modest profit growth and some debt repayment that lead to adjusted debt- to-EBITDA in the high 4x range, the agency said.

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