Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Price

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Barclays from $43.00 to $38.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 4.91% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $36.22 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.15. Bath & Body Works has a 1-year low of $26.20 and a 1-year high of $52.99. The company has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83.

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

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,199,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,093,306,000 after purchasing an additional 208,036 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,235,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $396,815,000 after buying an additional 422,973 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,494,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,317,000 after buying an additional 445,887 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,178,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,768,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anomaly Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP now owns 4,860,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,752 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.