Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Bath & Body Works, with 13 hold, four buy, and one sell rating among 18 firms. The average 12-month price target is approximately $22.29.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.62 in EPS versus the $0.24 estimate and $1.51 billion in revenue, although sales declined 2.3% year over year.
• Bath & Body Works declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.80 payout and a 4.1% dividend yield; institutional investors own 95.14% of the stock.

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.2857.

A number of analysts have recently commented on BBWI shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bath & Body Works from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Bath & Body Works from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised Bath & Body Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 92.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,877 shares of the company's stock worth $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 28,815 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 645,970 shares of the company's stock worth $19,586,000 after purchasing an additional 87,529 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 562,757 shares of the company's stock worth $17,063,000 after purchasing an additional 36,684 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 1st quarter worth $1,155,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 217.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Bath & Body Works stock opened at $19.56 on Friday. Bath & Body Works has a one year low of $14.27 and a one year high of $32.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 5.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.38. The business's fifty day moving average is $20.06 and its 200 day moving average is $19.83.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 53.48% and a net margin of 10.83%.Bath & Body Works's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. Bath & Body Works has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.070-0.120 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.600-2.800 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bath & Body Works will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.83%.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc is a leading specialty retailer focused on personal care, home fragrance and complementary products. Through its flagship Bath & Body Works brand, the company offers a diverse assortment of shower gels, lotions, fragrance mists, candles and home fragrance items. Its product portfolio also includes the White Barn Candle Co range of premium scented candles and diffusers. Bath & Body Works serves consumers through a combination of brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platforms, delivering seasonal collections, limited-edition releases and signature scent lines.

Founded in 1990 as part of Limited Brands (now L Brands), Bath & Body Works opened its first store in New Albany, Ohio, and quickly expanded across the United States.

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