Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires 5,035 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,585,460 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,035 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned 0.73% of Bath & Body Works worth $61,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BBWI. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 404.4% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 134,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,295,000 after acquiring an additional 107,868 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter worth $368,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter worth $241,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 28,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 9,023.5% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,701,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,322,000 after buying an additional 1,683,160 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BBWI. Citigroup upgraded Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of BBWI opened at $29.29 on Thursday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.20 and a 1 year high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.72 and a 200-day moving average of $34.07.

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 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 company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 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.