Brokerages Set Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Target Price at $42.50

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.50.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BBWI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (down from $52.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $52.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

NYSE BBWI opened at $38.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.83. Bath & Body Works has a 12 month low of $26.20 and a 12 month high of $52.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.21.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is 19.51%.

Insider Activity at Bath & Body Works

In other Bath & Body Works news, CEO Gina Boswell bought 6,000 shares of Bath & Body Works stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,202,134.68. The trade was a 2.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BBWI. Anomaly Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works during the second quarter worth $113,995,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 17,496.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,516,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,501,828 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 9,023.5% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,701,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,160 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,483,000. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its position in Bath & Body Works by 15.8% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 11,315,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,399 shares during the period. 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.