Arizona State Retirement System Reduces Stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,376 shares of the company’s stock after selling 382 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $2,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BBWI. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 17,496.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,516,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,315,000 after buying an additional 2,501,828 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 9,023.5% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,701,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,322,000 after buying an additional 1,683,160 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,483,000. Senvest Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,537,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,153,000 after purchasing an additional 820,379 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBWI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

BBWI stock opened at $30.45 on Tuesday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.20 and a 1-year high of $52.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Company 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.