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

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.06.

BBWI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position 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. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE:BBWI opened at $35.38 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $37.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.17.

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

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors 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 yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.