Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Authorizes Stock Buyback Plan

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of BBWI opened at $36.22 on Friday. Bath & Body Works has a 1-year low of $26.20 and a 1-year high of $52.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.70 and a 200 day moving average of $34.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83.

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

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBWI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.38.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

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.