Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Price Down 6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) traded down 6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $31.71 and last traded at $32.16. 2,141,152 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 3,824,888 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBWI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 4.8 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.93, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. 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.