Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,440,000 shares, a decline of 9.3% from the October 15th total of 10,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 4.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BBWI shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Bath & Body Works from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $60.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.44.

Insider Activity at Bath & Body Works

In other Bath & Body Works news, CEO Gina Boswell purchased 6,000 shares of Bath & Body Works stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $29.64 per share, with a total value of $177,840.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,202,134.68. This trade represents a 2.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 46.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 131,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,572,000 after purchasing an additional 41,995 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,398,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,370,458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102,124 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 820,379 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 576.9% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 22,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 19,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 18.1% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 266,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,498,000 after purchasing an additional 40,793 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BBWI traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.41. The stock had a trading volume of 2,527,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,818,352. The company has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.29. Bath & Body Works has a fifty-two week low of $26.20 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 41.94% and a net margin of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works will post 3.18 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 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.37%.

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.