Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Decreases Stock Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT lessened its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,234,214 shares of the company’s stock after selling 216,378 shares during the period. Bath & Body Works comprises approximately 2.9% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $86,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price objective on Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upgraded Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE BBWI opened at $30.24 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.99. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.21 and a 52 week high of $52.99. The stock has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

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

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.