Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) is Forest Avenue Capital Management LP’s 5th Largest Position

Forest Avenue Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 39.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,044,191 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 576,428 shares during the period. Bath & Body Works accounts for 7.2% of Forest Avenue Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP owned 0.94% of Bath & Body Works worth $79,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 24.2% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price objective on Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.06.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock opened at $26.54 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 6.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $32.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.00. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.96 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.