Alpine Global Management LLC Makes New Investment in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 14,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $576,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Anomaly Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP now owns 4,860,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,752 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 257.7% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 108,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,201,000 after acquiring an additional 78,053 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 334.9% in the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 73,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,864,000 after purchasing an additional 56,890 shares during the last quarter. Natixis bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth $1,077,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,144,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,135,000 after purchasing an additional 313,092 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BBWI shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.13.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

BBWI opened at $27.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.78, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.98 and a 200 day moving average of $33.88. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.96 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99.

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. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works 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.