Bath & Body Works, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.20 (NYSE:BBWI)

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 8th,Zacks Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share on Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd.

Bath & Body Works has increased its dividend payment by an average of 38.7% annually over the last three years. Bath & Body Works has a payout ratio of 22.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Bath & Body Works to earn $3.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.3%.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 3.2 %

BBWI stock opened at $30.45 on Wednesday. Bath & Body Works has a 52-week low of $26.20 and a 52-week high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 7.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $30.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.18.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.69% and a negative return on equity of 41.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bath & Body Works

In other Bath & Body Works news, CEO Gina Boswell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.64 per share, with a total value of $177,840.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,202,134.68. This represents a 2.53 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BBWI shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays cut Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.44.

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.