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

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $42.00.

BBWI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Piper Sandler set a $39.00 price target on Bath & Body Works and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 0.6%

BBWI traded down $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $26.09. 4,445,439 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,013,259. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.70. The company has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.72. Bath & Body Works has a twelve month low of $24.96 and a twelve month high of $45.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.33%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 217.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

About Bath & Body Works

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.