The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Price

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $44.00 to $43.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 57.05% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Raymond James cut their target price 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. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.00.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of BBWI traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.38. 2,478,436 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,066,710. Bath & Body Works has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $49.20. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 6.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.87. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $29.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.94.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBWI. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $372,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $440,000. Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 62,987 shares of the company's stock worth $2,442,000 after acquiring an additional 13,847 shares during the period. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

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.