Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Price Up 4.4% - Still a Buy?

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) rose 4.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $26.83 and last traded at $26.96. 992,698 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 5,061,005 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBWI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Piper Sandler set a $39.00 target price on Bath & Body Works and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on 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, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Bath & Body Works from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 5.2%

The stock has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.25, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.42.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 47.44% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio is 21.33%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Northwest Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 14,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 17,232 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.