Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Trading Up 6.7% – Should You Buy?

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) rose 6.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $18.45 and last traded at $18.5740. Approximately 2,018,681 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 5,927,990 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBWI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of Bath & Body Works from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $38.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.17.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 9.7%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.69 and a 200-day moving average of $27.56. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 5.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 9.88% and a negative return on equity of 48.43%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Bath & Body Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.870- EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.700- EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bath & Body Works

In related news, Director Stephen D. Steinour bought 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.86 per share, for a total transaction of $99,562.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 48,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,880.50. This trade represents a 16.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lucy Brady bought 3,470 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.40 per share, with a total value of $49,968.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 17,482 shares in the company, valued at $251,740.80. This represents a 24.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 33,513 shares of company stock worth $500,442. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBWI. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 91.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 101,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,619,000 after purchasing an additional 48,525 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,256,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth $263,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

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.