Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.06.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BBWI shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 135.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of BBWI stock opened at $27.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $34.45 and a 200-day moving average of $34.10. Bath & Body Works has a one year low of $25.41 and a one year high of $52.99. The company has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc is a specialty retailers and home to America’s Favorite Fragrances, offering a breadth of exclusive fragrances for the body and home, including the selling collections for fine fragrance mist, body lotion and body cream, 3-wick candles, home fragrance diffusers and liquid hand soap.