Piper Sandler Raises Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Price Target to $45.00

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) had its price objective hoisted by Piper Sandler from $44.00 to $45.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

BBWI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Barclays downgraded Bath & Body Works from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an outperform rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $46.33.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

BBWI opened at $45.22 on Tuesday. Bath & Body Works has a 52-week low of $27.30 and a 52-week high of $50.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.70.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 37.01% and a net margin of 11.82%. Bath & Body Works’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 20.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Thomas E. Mazurek sold 4,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $209,493.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,992 shares in the company, valued at $2,248,548.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBWI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,669,000. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 2,360.0% during the first quarter. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP now owns 2,391,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,467,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293,904 shares during the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the third quarter worth $76,050,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the first quarter worth $84,383,000. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 10,448,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,973,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,471 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.