By Christopher Hinton
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (BJ 46.17, -0.47, -1.01%) said Wednesday its third-quarter profit rose to $23 million, or 43 cents a share, from $17.4 million, or 32 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales climbed nearly 5% to $2.57 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for earnings of 36 cents a share, on average, with sales of $2.57 billion. For the full year, the Natick, Mass., retailer raised its profit forecast to a range of $2.48 to $2.52 a share, from $2.40 to $2.50 a share. Wall Street expected 2010 earnings of $2.47 a share. Shares of BJ closed Tuesday at $46.17, down 1%.
