Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.60.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BBWI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $53.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BBWI opened at $34.17 on Monday. Bath & Body Works has a 52 week low of $27.30 and a 52 week high of $52.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.30. The company has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.85.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 11.92% and a negative return on equity of 40.00%. The company had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBWI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $101,669,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 10,448,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,973,000 after buying an additional 1,742,471 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 379.2% during the fourth quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 1,903,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,145,000 after buying an additional 1,506,110 shares in the last quarter. Cadian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth about $58,266,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 4.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,398,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,370,458,000 after buying an additional 1,102,124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc operates a specialty retailer of home fragrance, body care, and soaps and sanitizer products. It sells its products under the Bath & Body Works, White Barn, and other brand names through retail stores and e-commerce sites located in the United States and Canada, as well as through international stores operated by partners under franchise, license, and wholesale arrangements.