Brokerages Set Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) PT at $43.06

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.06.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BBWI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock opened at $36.92 on Monday. Bath & Body Works has a 52-week low of $26.20 and a 52-week high of $52.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.64. The company has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is presently 19.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 3,286.1% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 15,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 15,379 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 11.5% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 23,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,454 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 255,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 36,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,414,000 after acquiring an additional 4,632 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 275.1% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,655 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

About Bath & Body Works

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.