Short Interest in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Expands By 23.5%

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,410,000 shares, a growth of 23.5% from the February 28th total of 6,000,000 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BBWI. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.06.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBWI. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 135.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 2.6 %

BBWI traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,960,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,573,458. The stock's 50-day moving average is $34.45 and its 200-day moving average is $34.10. Bath & Body Works has a 1 year low of $25.41 and a 1 year high of $52.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.61, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board 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.