Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Upgraded by Barclays to Equal Weight Rating

Barclays upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $43.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $34.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $47.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.19.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

NYSE BBWI opened at $39.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.83. Bath & Body Works has a fifty-two week low of $26.20 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.96.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Trust bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth $205,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth about $2,920,000. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth about $576,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 14,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $364,000. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

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.