Sterling Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 51.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,025 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,447 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BBWI. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BBWI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.13.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

NYSE BBWI opened at $28.42 on Friday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.96 and a 1 year high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 6.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.29 and a 200 day moving average of $33.86.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. Research analysts expect 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 share buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

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.