Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $21.04, but opened at $15.86. Bath & Body Works shares last traded at $15.95, with a volume of 12,595,127 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 9.88% and a negative return on equity of 48.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. Bath & Body Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.870- EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.700- EPS.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is 23.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bath & Body Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.18.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 235.8% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 111,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,380,000 after buying an additional 78,280 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the first quarter worth $807,000. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 1st quarter worth $663,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 40,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 7,505 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,214 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 23.2%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.34. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.53.

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.