Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Upgraded at Citigroup

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $48.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $40.00. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 33.54% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BBWI. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.25.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

BBWI stock opened at $35.95 on Friday. Bath & Body Works has a 52-week low of $26.20 and a 52-week high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $37.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.08.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BBWI. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,129,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 19.1% during the third quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,467,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,851,000 after acquiring an additional 235,173 shares in the last quarter. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the third quarter worth $2,921,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,153,000 after acquiring an additional 820,379 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1,078.2% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 45,144 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.