Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Short Interest Down 9.3% in October

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,440,000 shares, a decline of 9.3% from the October 15th total of 10,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 4.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBWI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.44.

Insider Activity at Bath & Body Works

In other Bath & Body Works news, CEO Gina Boswell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.64 per share, with a total value of $177,840.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,202,134.68. This represents a 2.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Community Trust NA purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 300.0% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 24.2% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 480.3% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 3.2 %

Bath & Body Works stock traded down $1.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.44. 3,794,686 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,825,142. The company has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.36, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.26 and its 200 day moving average is $36.29. Bath & Body Works has a 52 week low of $26.20 and a 52 week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 41.94% and a net margin of 12.69%. Equities analysts expect that Bath & Body Works will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is currently 19.37%.

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.