Analysts Set Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Target Price at $45.06

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.06.

Several brokerages have weighed in on BBWI. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BBWI. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,129,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 235,173 shares during the last quarter. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the third quarter worth $2,921,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company's stock worth $34,153,000 after acquiring an additional 820,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1,078.2% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,331 shares of the company's stock worth $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 45,144 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of BBWI traded down $2.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.17. The company had a trading volume of 2,074,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,824,888. 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 $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.18.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.