Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) gapped up prior to trading 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.63.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 0.6 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.64 and a 200 day moving average of $33.76. The firm has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.83.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,129,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 19.1% in the third quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,467,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,851,000 after acquiring an additional 235,173 shares during the period. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter valued at $2,921,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 328.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,153,000 after purchasing an additional 820,379 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 1,078.2% during the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 45,144 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.