Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $36.47, but opened at $38.41. Bath & Body Works shares last traded at $39.40, with a volume of 1,137,123 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BBWI. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.63.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.76. The firm has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.83.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in 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 during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 135.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.