Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Releases Q4 Earnings Guidance

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) issued an update on its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.70-1.90 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98. The company issued revenue guidance of down 1-5% yr/yr to ~$2.74-2.86 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.89 billion. Bath & Body Works also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $2.90-$3.10 EPS.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

BBWI stock opened at $30.10 on Friday. Bath & Body Works has a one year low of $27.30 and a one year high of $49.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.27. The company has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.84.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.13. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 9.47% and a negative return on equity of 30.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 16th. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 26.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BBWI shares. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $52.00 to $42.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and decreased their price target for the company from $41.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Barclays raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the company from $41.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 10.4% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 3.7% in the third quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 8,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 6.8% in the first quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 14,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 94.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bath & Body Works

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.