Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Stock Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 3,642.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,651,109 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,606,988 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $50,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 135.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 65.9% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock opened at $26.27 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.70. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.96 and a fifty-two week high of $45.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.72.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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 has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Bath & Body Works from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

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.