Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Short Interest Up 31.0% in February

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,000,000 shares, an increase of 31.0% from the February 13th total of 4,580,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 0.9 %

BBWI traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.97. 2,751,215 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,080,485. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.99. Bath & Body Works has a 52-week low of $26.21 and a 52-week high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.32, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBWI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. D1 Capital Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $109,797,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 17,496.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,516,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,501,828 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,572,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,882,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715,096 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the third quarter worth about $50,483,000. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.