Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $25.84 and last traded at $26.36, with a volume of 630228 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBWI has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,199,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,093,306,000 after buying an additional 208,036 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,235,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $396,815,000 after acquiring an additional 422,973 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,494,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,317,000 after acquiring an additional 445,887 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,178,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anomaly Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP now owns 4,860,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,752 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

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.