Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Upgraded to “Buy” at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $48.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $40.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BBWI. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Raymond James reissued 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.38.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

NYSE BBWI opened at $36.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $37.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.12. Bath & Body Works has a 12 month low of $26.20 and a 12 month high of $52.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS 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 company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

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

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.