Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 208,036 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,199,787 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 208,036 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Bath & Body Works worth $1,093,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BBWI. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $735,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 59.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 227.2% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 17,423 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 26,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $858,000 after buying an additional 3,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 17,496.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,516,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,501,828 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 3.0 %

BBWI opened at $30.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.03. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.21 and a twelve month high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released 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. The business 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price target on Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.