Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Price Target Lowered to $37.00 at Raymond James

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) had its target price dropped by Raymond James from $46.00 to $37.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Raymond James’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 30.17% from the company’s previous close.

BBWI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.13.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of BBWI opened at $28.42 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $32.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.84. Bath & Body Works has a 52-week low of $24.96 and a 52-week high of $52.99. The company has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.93, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. As a group, research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bard Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works during the third quarter worth about $412,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 50.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 265,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,230,000 after purchasing an additional 89,350 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,153,000 after acquiring an additional 820,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 161.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.