Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Short Interest Update

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,760,000 shares, a decrease of 5.9% from the November 15th total of 8,250,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gina Boswell bought 6,000 shares of Bath & Body Works stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Citizens & Northern Corp raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 29,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 4,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of BBWI opened at $38.68 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.41. The company has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.83. Bath & Body Works has a 12 month low of $26.20 and a 12 month high of $52.99.

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

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

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.