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

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.50.

BBWI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $52.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bath & Body Works news, CEO Gina Boswell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBWI. 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 24.2% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 480.3% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock opened at $39.09 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.83. Bath & Body Works has a 52-week low of $26.20 and a 52-week high of $52.99.

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

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. 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.