Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Trading 8.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) rose 8.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $21.83 and last traded at $21.8650. Approximately 3,274,881 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 5,577,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group cut Bath & Body Works from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Bath & Body Works from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, New Street Research set a $26.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Monday, November 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.83.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.79.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.05). Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 47.35% and a net margin of 9.50%.The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Bath & Body Works’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Bath & Body Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.870- EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.700- EPS. On average, analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bath & Body Works news, Director Francis Hondal bought 3,343 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.99 per share, for a total transaction of $50,111.57. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 21,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,094.46. This trade represents a 18.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lucy Brady purchased 3,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.40 per share, for a total transaction of $49,968.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 17,482 shares in the company, valued at $251,740.80. This represents a 24.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 33,513 shares of company stock valued at $500,442 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 63.3% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1.2% in the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 47,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 16,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in 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.