Telsey Advisory Group Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI)

Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a $43.00 target price on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.56.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Bath & Body Works stock opened at $33.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.87. Bath & Body Works has a 52-week low of $24.96 and a 52-week high of $52.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $30.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.03.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBWI. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth $270,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 39,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 2,660 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth $372,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.