Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.00.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BBWI shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 217.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,169 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 63.3% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 135.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

NYSE BBWI traded up $0.76 on Monday, hitting $33.56. The company had a trading volume of 7,767,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,202,248. Bath & Body Works has a 12-month low of $24.94 and a 12-month high of $41.87. The company has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.95, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.72. The company's fifty day moving average price is $29.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.61.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 11.10% and a negative return on equity of 47.44%. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

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.