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

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

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $38.68 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.43, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.83. Bath & Body Works has a 1 year low of $26.20 and a 1 year high of $52.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.41.

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

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bath & Body Works

In other Bath & Body Works news, CEO Gina Boswell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $29.64 per share, with a total value of $177,840.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at $7,202,134.68. The trade was a 2.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 24.2% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1.7% during the second quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 29,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 23.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 34.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 19.6% in the second quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 4,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBWI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.50.

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.