Alliancebernstein L.P. Grows Stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 35.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,178,447 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,360,264 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $200,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BBWI. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 227.2% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 17,423 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 17,496.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,516,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,501,828 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,472,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,158,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,976,000 after acquiring an additional 40,868 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 57.2% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 16,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 5,842 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock opened at $30.29 on Tuesday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.21 and a 1 year high of $52.99. The firm has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.39, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.15.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is 21.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BBWI shares. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. TD Cowen increased their target price on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

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.