Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 227,610 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,301 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of Bath & Body Works worth $8,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at $285,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 4,494.7% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 548,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,255,000 after buying an additional 536,305 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 109.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 2,635 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBWI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 3.8 %

Bath & Body Works stock opened at $29.54 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.99. 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 cap of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.