Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Price Down 7.1% – What’s Next?

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) shares dropped 7.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $22.75 and last traded at $22.6570. Approximately 440,044 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 4,859,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBWI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Monday. Bank of America set a $26.00 price target on Bath & Body Works in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Bath & Body Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Bath & Body Works from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $39.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $18.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, November 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.29.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 7.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.05). Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 9.50% and a negative return on equity of 47.35%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.62%.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BBWI. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 92.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,815,000 after buying an additional 28,815 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 645,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,586,000 after purchasing an additional 87,529 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 562,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,063,000 after purchasing an additional 36,684 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the first quarter worth $1,155,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 217.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc is a leading specialty retailer focused on personal care, home fragrance and complementary products. Through its flagship Bath & Body Works brand, the company offers a diverse assortment of shower gels, lotions, fragrance mists, candles and home fragrance items. Its product portfolio also includes the White Barn Candle Co range of premium scented candles and diffusers. Bath & Body Works serves consumers through a combination of brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platforms, delivering seasonal collections, limited-edition releases and signature scent lines.

Founded in 1990 as part of Limited Brands (now L Brands), Bath & Body Works opened its first store in New Albany, Ohio, and quickly expanded across the United States.