Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $48.00 to $40.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Bath & Body Works traded as low as $29.30 and last traded at $30.50, with a volume of 2766846 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.83.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BBWI. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.19.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $30.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.81. The firm has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. Research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is 21.98%.

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

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.