Morgan Stanley Cuts Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Price Target to $43.00

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by Morgan Stanley from $49.00 to $43.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential upside of 42.63% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on BBWI. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Bath & Body Works from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.88.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

NYSE BBWI traded down $0.17 on Tuesday, reaching $30.15. The stock had a trading volume of 244,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,782,948. The stock has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.87. The business's 50-day moving average price is $30.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.82. Bath & Body Works has a 12-month low of $24.96 and a 12-month high of $52.99.

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

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BBWI. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 50.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 265,221 shares of the company's stock worth $8,230,000 after acquiring an additional 89,350 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,153,000 after purchasing an additional 820,379 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,434 shares of the company's stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company's stock.

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.

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