Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Price Down 3.4% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) dropped 3.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $30.29 and last traded at $30.39. Approximately 572,345 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 3,810,359 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBWI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $52.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.44.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 3.3 %

The company’s 50 day moving average is $30.26 and its 200-day moving average is $36.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.79.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 41.94% and a net margin of 12.69%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gina Boswell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 242,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,202,134.68. This represents a 2.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BBWI. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 46.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 131,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,572,000 after buying an additional 41,995 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 350,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,589,000 after acquiring an additional 40,178 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,398,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,370,458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102,124 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 3.4% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 17,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

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.