Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.6071.

BBWI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $28.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $20.00 price target on Bath & Body Works in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $18.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven E. Voskuil bought 20,000 shares of Bath & Body Works stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.04 per share, with a total value of $300,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 33,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $510,232. The trade was a 143.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen D. Steinour acquired 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.86 per share, for a total transaction of $99,562.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 48,175 shares in the company, valued at $715,880.50. This represents a 16.15% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders bought 33,513 shares of company stock valued at $500,442. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 2,204.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,174,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,292,000 after purchasing an additional 4,949,796 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 553.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 3,714,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,685,000 after buying an additional 3,145,797 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 267.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,993,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,073,000 after buying an additional 2,907,506 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,746,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,113,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:BBWI opened at $19.80 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 6.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.15. Bath & Body Works has a 12 month low of $14.27 and a 12 month high of $41.87.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 47.35% and a net margin of 9.50%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. Bath & Body Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.870- EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.700- EPS. Research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.62%.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

Bath & Body Works, Inc is a leading specialty retailer focused on personal care, home fragrance and complementary products. Through its flagship Bath & Body Works brand, the company offers a diverse assortment of shower gels, lotions, fragrance mists, candles and home fragrance items. Its product portfolio also includes the White Barn Candle Co range of premium scented candles and diffusers. Bath & Body Works serves consumers through a combination of brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platforms, delivering seasonal collections, limited-edition releases and signature scent lines.

Founded in 1990 as part of Limited Brands (now L Brands), Bath & Body Works opened its first store in New Albany, Ohio, and quickly expanded across the United States.