Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.50.

BBWI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (down previously from $52.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bath & Body Works news, CEO Gina Boswell acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at $7,202,134.68. This trade represents a 2.53 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1.7% during the second quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 29,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 23.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 34.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 4,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Bath & Body Works stock opened at $38.99 on Thursday. Bath & Body Works has a fifty-two week low of $26.20 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.21. The firm has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.83.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bath & Body Works will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

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.