Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,170,000 shares, agrowthof49.3% from the July 15th total of 6,810,000 shares. Currently,4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 5,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 5,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently,4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBWI has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Bath & Body Works from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.06.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 38.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 11,681 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $258,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the first quarter worth approximately $714,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 764,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,628,000 after purchasing an additional 27,136 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 3,642.2% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,651,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE BBWI opened at $29.6150 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.14. Bath & Body Works has a 12 month low of $24.94 and a 12 month high of $41.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a PE ratio of 7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.54.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 47.44% and a net margin of 11.10%.The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Bath & Body Works has set its Q2 2025 guidance at 0.330-0.380 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.33%.

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.