L Brands (NYSE:LB) was upgraded by Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday. The brokerage currently has a $70.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their prior price target of $60.00. Robert W. Baird’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 16.24% from the stock’s previous close.
A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on LB. KeyCorp restated a “sell” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of L Brands in a report on Tuesday, September 26th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of L Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on L Brands from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $56.00 target price on L Brands and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Cowen cut L Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $39.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. L Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.75.
L Brands (LB) opened at $60.22 on Tuesday. L Brands has a 1-year low of $35.00 and a 1-year high of $68.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of -5.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $16,998.01, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.80.
L Brands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 18th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
In other L Brands news, Director David T. Kollat bought 9,910 shares of L Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.34 per share, with a total value of $498,869.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 158,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,997,918.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 16.68% of the company’s stock.
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LB. First Personal Financial Services increased its holdings in shares of L Brands by 127.7% in the second quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 1,954 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Amica Retiree Medical Trust acquired a new position in shares of L Brands in the third quarter valued at about $106,000. Financial Architects Inc increased its holdings in shares of L Brands by 56.4% in the second quarter. Financial Architects Inc now owns 1,749 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new position in shares of L Brands in the second quarter valued at about $123,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of L Brands by 44.0% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. 78.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
WARNING: This news story was originally posted by American Market News and is owned by of American Market News. If you are accessing this news story on another publication, it was illegally copied and republished in violation of international copyright & trademark law. The legal version of this news story can be read at https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2018/01/02/l-brands-lb-upgraded-to-outperform-at-robert-w-baird.html.
L Brands Company Profile
L Brands, Inc operates specialty retail business. The Company is focused on women’s intimate and other apparel, personal care, beauty and home fragrance categories. Its segments include Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works International. It sells its merchandise through company-owned specialty retail stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Greater China, which are mall-based; through Websites, and through international franchise, license and wholesale partners.
