Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $36.47, but opened at $38.41. Bath & Body Works shares last traded at $39.40, with a volume of 1,137,123 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBWI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $47.00 in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.56.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.72. The company has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.83.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. Bath & Body Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBWI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 431 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 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.