Trexquant Investment LP Acquires New Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Trexquant Investment LP bought 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 & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 80,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,125,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 52,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,046,000 after buying an additional 12,964 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works in the third quarter worth about $8,129,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,704,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,088,000 after purchasing an additional 195,813 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1,078.2% during the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 45,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,350,000. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBWI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of BBWI stock opened at $27.11 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $52.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.16.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced 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 net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

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

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.