Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Price Up 6.1% - Here's Why

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) was up 6.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $28.75 and last traded at $28.27. Approximately 3,946,102 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 5,213,682 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Bath & Body Works from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $38.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.13.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 3.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. The business's 50 day moving average is $32.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.84.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,199,787 shares of the company's stock worth $1,093,306,000 after purchasing an additional 208,036 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,235,086 shares of the company's stock worth $396,815,000 after buying an additional 422,973 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,494,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,317,000 after buying an additional 445,887 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,178,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,768,000 after buying an additional 1,360,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anomaly Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP now owns 4,860,876 shares of the company's stock worth $188,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,752 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.