Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 135.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,013 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $39,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 24.2% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,030,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler upped 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

BBWI stock opened at $29.75 on Wednesday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.20 and a 12 month high of $52.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.91 and its 200 day moving average is $34.10. The company has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 7.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is 21.98%.

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.