Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,760,000 shares, a decline of 5.9% from the November 15th total of 8,250,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 6,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BBWI. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target (down from $52.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gina Boswell purchased 6,000 shares of Bath & Body Works stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,202,134.68. The trade was a 2.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBWI. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 265,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,230,000 after buying an additional 89,350 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Bard Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the third quarter worth about $412,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 24.2% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 137,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,393,000 after purchasing an additional 32,233 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBWI traded up $0.05 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.67. 1,093,472 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,008,479. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.50. Bath & Body Works has a 12-month low of $26.20 and a 12-month high of $52.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.83.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

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.