Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Up 5% – Time to Buy?

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) shares rose 5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $19.87 and last traded at $19.7170. Approximately 2,331,826 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 5,213,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.78.

Bath & Body Works News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Bath & Body Works this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bath & Body Works says it will offer fewer discounts in 2026, a deliberate move to protect gross margins and improve profitability if execution sustains. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage notes a “major change customers will notice” (likely tied to merchandising/discounting strategy) that could lift average selling prices and margins. Investors often reward visibility on margin recovery. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Telsey Advisory raised BBWI’s price target to $25 while keeping a Market Perform rating — a signal that some analysts are modeling better margin outcomes even if the view remains cautious. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector spotlight: Bath & Body Works was listed among consumer discretionary stocks worth watching, which can drive trading interest but is not a direct catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Numerous law firms (Rosen, Faruqi, Glancy, Pomerantz, Schall, Gross, Bernstein Liebhard, DJS, others) are soliciting Bath & Body Works investors about a securities‑fraud class action and urging lead‑plaintiff filings ahead of a March 16 deadline — increasing headline risk and the potential for costly litigation or settlement. Representative notice: Rosen Law Firm. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Additional plaintiff‑firm alerts increase the likelihood of consolidation into a lead plaintiff and amplify settlement/defense cost uncertainty; see Glancy/PR Newswire notices for more detail. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BBWI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $18.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $20.00 target price on Bath & Body Works in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Bath & Body Works from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.00.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.37 and its 200-day moving average is $23.10.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.28. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 45.60% and a net margin of 8.90%.The company had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Bath & Body Works’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is 25.40%.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 132.5% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,445,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,834,000 after acquiring an additional 6,523,960 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 11.5% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,080,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,120,000 after purchasing an additional 733,000 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 2.2% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,861,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,991,000 after purchasing an additional 123,648 shares during the period. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 42.7% during the second quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 5,409,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

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.