Brokerages Set Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Price Target at $48.53

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.53.

BBWI has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $53.00 in a report on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Bath & Body Works from $53.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 1.1 %

BBWI opened at $37.69 on Thursday. Bath & Body Works has a 52 week low of $27.30 and a 52 week high of $52.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.06. The company has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.85.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 40.00% and a net margin of 11.92%. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bath & Body Works will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 6.1% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 63.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 97,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,284,000 after buying an additional 37,789 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 71.0% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 31,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after buying an additional 12,904 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 396.9% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 26,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 21,004 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Bath & Body Works by 15.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 21,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,943 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

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.