The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Price Target to $42.00

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) had its target price cut by The Goldman Sachs Group from $49.00 to $42.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.69.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

NYSE:BBWI opened at $29.70 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.81. Bath & Body Works has a fifty-two week low of $24.96 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 7.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 14,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.