Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Price

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 33.27% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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 report on Monday, March 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.19.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE BBWI opened at $30.02 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.81. The stock has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.32, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. Bath & Body Works has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) 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 net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding 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 an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 52,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 12,964 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 88,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,428,000 after acquiring an additional 4,625 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Bath & Body Works by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,704,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,088,000 after acquiring an additional 195,813 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,350,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,178,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

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.