Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $47.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $41.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen raised their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.56.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

NYSE:BBWI opened at $39.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.83. Bath & Body Works has a one year low of $26.20 and a one year high of $52.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.72.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. Bath & Body Works’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the third quarter worth approximately $8,129,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 19.1% in the third quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,467,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,851,000 after buying an additional 235,173 shares during the last quarter. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the third quarter worth approximately $2,921,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,153,000 after buying an additional 820,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 1,078.2% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 45,144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

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.