Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.33.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BBWI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. 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 report on Friday, March 1st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, March 4th.

Insider Transactions at Bath & Body Works

In other news, insider Thomas E. Mazurek sold 4,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total transaction of $209,493.65. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,248,548.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at $101,669,000. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 2,360.0% during the 1st quarter. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP now owns 2,391,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,467,000 after acquiring an additional 2,293,904 shares during the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter valued at $76,050,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 1st quarter valued at $84,383,000. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 10,448,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,973,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742,471 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $43.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.86. Bath & Body Works has a 12 month low of $27.30 and a 12 month high of $50.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.08.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.21. The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.86 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is currently 20.78%.

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.