Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Price

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $51.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Thursday. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 56.30% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays lowered Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $31.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $52.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.25.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 0.5 %

BBWI opened at $30.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 7.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.79. Bath & Body Works has a 52 week low of $26.20 and a 52 week high of $52.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 41.94% and a net margin of 12.69%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bath & Body Works will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gina Boswell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,202,134.68. This represents a 2.53 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 6.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 13,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 31,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens & Northern Corp grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 1.7% in the second quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 29,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.