Great Lakes Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 109.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 2,635 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 52,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after buying an additional 12,964 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 88,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,428,000 after acquiring an additional 4,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on BBWI shares. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of BBWI stock opened at $29.54 on Monday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.21 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.00.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

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.