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

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,720,000 shares, a drop of 22.8% from the March 15th total of 7,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 2.3 %

BBWI stock traded down $0.64 during trading on Monday, reaching $27.78. The stock had a trading volume of 3,277,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,238,248. Bath & Body Works has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $52.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.90. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James decreased their target price on Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $38.00 to $35.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBWI. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 52,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 12,964 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 88,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,428,000 after acquiring an additional 4,625 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,704,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,088,000 after acquiring an additional 195,813 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,350,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,178,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

About Bath & Body Works

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.