Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Stock

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $38.00 to $42.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

BBWI has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on Bath & Body Works from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $60.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.50.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Bath & Body Works stock opened at $37.42 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.85. Bath & Body Works has a 1 year low of $26.20 and a 1 year high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.83.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Bath & Body Works will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.51%.

Insider Transactions at Bath & Body Works

In related news, CEO Gina Boswell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,202,134.68. The trade was a 2.53 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 24.2% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Citizens & Northern Corp raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1.7% in the second quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 29,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 23.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 34.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc operates a specialty retailer of home fragrance, body care, and soaps and sanitizer products. It sells its products under the Bath & Body Works, White Barn, and other brand names through retail stores and e-commerce sites located in the United States and Canada, as well as through international stores operated by partners under franchise, license, and wholesale arrangements.