Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,610,000 shares, an increase of 35.5% from the April 15th total of 4,880,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 0.6 %

Bath & Body Works stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $47.82. The stock had a trading volume of 3,343,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,722,776. The stock's 50 day moving average is $46.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.78. Bath & Body Works has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $50.34. The stock has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 11.82% and a negative return on equity of 37.01%. Bath & Body Works's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BBWI. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bath & Body Works news, insider Thomas E. Mazurek sold 4,285 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $209,493.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,992 shares in the company, valued at $2,248,548.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 576.9% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 22,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,140,000 after buying an additional 19,431 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 17,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $882,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 4.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,398,192 shares of the company's stock worth $1,370,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102,124 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 12.9% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 350,726 shares of the company's stock worth $17,589,000 after purchasing an additional 40,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 28.1% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 258,617 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,936,000 after purchasing an additional 56,764 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc operates a specialty retailer of home fragrance, body care, and soaps and sanitizer products. It sells its products under the Bath & Body Works, White Barn, and other brand names through retail stores and e-commerce sites located in the United States and Canada, as well as through international stores operated by partners under franchise, license, and wholesale arrangements.