Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 1,715,096 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 79.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,882,047 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,715,096 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $150,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during 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 period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Bath & Body Works by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $30.93 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.21 and its 200 day moving average is $34.13. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.21 and a 1-year high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works announced 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 often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business 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 2.59%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BBWI. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.