Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Up 5.9% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) shot up 5.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $30.66 and last traded at $30.63. 954,895 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 3,696,849 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BBWI. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.13.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 7.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.38.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.69% and a negative return on equity of 41.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is currently 19.37%.

Insider Transactions at Bath & Body Works

In related news, CEO Gina Boswell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,202,134.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBWI. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 65.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 224.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter valued at $103,000. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

Bath & Body Works, Inc operates a specialty retailer of home fragrance, body care, and soaps and sanitizer products. It sells its products under the Bath & Body Works, White Barn, and other brand names through retail stores and e-commerce sites located in the United States and Canada, as well as through international stores operated by partners under franchise, license, and wholesale arrangements.