Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BBWI shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Bath & Body Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $20.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBWI opened at $18.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 5.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.92. Bath & Body Works has a one year low of $14.27 and a one year high of $34.66.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 8.90% and a negative return on equity of 45.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Bath & Body Works has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.240-0.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.400-2.650 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BBWI. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 132.5% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,445,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,834,000 after buying an additional 6,523,960 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $133,292,000 after buying an additional 4,949,796 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 553.2% during the third 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. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,504,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,785,000. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bath & Body Works

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.