Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Price

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $49.00 to $43.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.88.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

BBWI traded down $0.60 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.14. 2,328,934 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,814,454. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.82. Bath & Body Works has a 12-month low of $24.96 and a 12-month high of $52.99. The company has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.60, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.87.

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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BBWI. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 14,732.0% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,798,108 shares of the company's stock worth $206,119,000 after purchasing an additional 6,752,274 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $109,797,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $73,572,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 79.1% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,882,047 shares of the company's stock worth $150,507,000 after buying an additional 1,715,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 3,642.2% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,651,109 shares of the company's stock worth $50,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606,988 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.