Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Price Down 4.5%

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) was down 4.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $29.57 and last traded at $29.64. Approximately 727,746 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 3,412,709 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on BBWI. Barclays upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Bath & Body Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $45.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.84. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.32.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 23rd. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 9.47% and a negative return on equity of 30.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 17th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 16th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,074,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,573,000 after acquiring an additional 174,915 shares during the period. Third Point LLC increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 0.7% in the second quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 13,850,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $519,375,000 after buying an additional 98,900 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,038,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,264,000 after buying an additional 58,201 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,364,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,326,000 after buying an additional 484,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,967,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,824,000 after acquiring an additional 242,619 shares during the last quarter. 94.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.