Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases New Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 33,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 5,203 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $735,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 124.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 54,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after buying an additional 30,369 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 374,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,959,000 after buying an additional 140,221 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Bath & Body Works stock opened at $32.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. 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 50 day moving average price of $35.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.01.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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 $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is currently 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.