Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Price Target Raised to $34.00

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the stock.

BBWI has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price (down from $52.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James cut their target price on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.88.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

BBWI opened at $36.29 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.65. The firm has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.79. Bath & Body Works has a 1 year low of $26.20 and a 1 year high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.51%.

Insider Activity at Bath & Body Works

In related news, CEO Gina Boswell purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.64 per share, with a total value of $177,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at $7,202,134.68. This trade represents a 2.53 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter worth $2,921,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,153,000 after purchasing an additional 820,379 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 266,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,498,000 after purchasing an additional 40,793 shares during the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,467,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,851,000 after purchasing an additional 235,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 404.4% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 134,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,295,000 after buying an additional 107,868 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

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.