Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six 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 $46.40.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BBWI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $40.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $53.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, June 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 320.7% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,520,000. Shellback Capital LP grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 242.9% during the 2nd quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 240,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,372,000 after buying an additional 170,000 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 26.5% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 22,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 4,775 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

BBWI opened at $33.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.16. Bath & Body Works has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 11.92% and a negative return on equity of 40.00%. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 20.62%.

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.