Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 97.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 846 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,410 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $33,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BBWI. FMR LLC increased its position 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 valued at $80,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,501,828 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,483,000. Senvest Management LLC acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,537,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 820,379 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 111.8% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 1,345,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,957,000 after acquiring an additional 710,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock opened at $30.24 on Friday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.21 and a 1 year high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.93.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BBWI. 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 report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup raised Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

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.