Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Trading Down 3.1% - Should You Sell?

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 3.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $29.17 and last traded at $29.52. 1,223,327 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 4,931,247 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BBWI shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 1.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.94.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.33%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 135.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the first quarter worth $35,000. 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.