Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Price Down 7.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) fell 7.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $22.75 and last traded at $22.6570. 440,044 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 4,859,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBWI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $39.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $33.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.29.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 7.2%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.81 and its 200 day moving average is $23.89. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 6.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.54.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.05). Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 47.35% and a net margin of 9.50%.The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 24.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 40.6% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 772,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,895,000 after purchasing an additional 223,089 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,292,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 263,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,791,000 after acquiring an additional 97,640 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 53.5% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 58,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 20,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 29.9% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 369,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,517,000 after acquiring an additional 85,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

Bath & Body Works, Inc is a leading specialty retailer focused on personal care, home fragrance and complementary products. Through its flagship Bath & Body Works brand, the company offers a diverse assortment of shower gels, lotions, fragrance mists, candles and home fragrance items. Its product portfolio also includes the White Barn Candle Co range of premium scented candles and diffusers. Bath & Body Works serves consumers through a combination of brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platforms, delivering seasonal collections, limited-edition releases and signature scent lines.

Founded in 1990 as part of Limited Brands (now L Brands), Bath & Body Works opened its first store in New Albany, Ohio, and quickly expanded across the United States.