Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.73.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BBWI shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of BBWI stock opened at $47.22 on Wednesday. Bath & Body Works has a 52 week low of $27.30 and a 52 week high of $50.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.27. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.21. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 11.82% and a negative return on equity of 37.01%. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 20.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bath & Body Works news, insider Thomas E. Mazurek sold 4,285 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total transaction of $209,493.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,992 shares in the company, valued at $2,248,548.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 5.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 3.6% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 33,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

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.