Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Stake Boosted by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP increased its position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 182.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 197,886 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 127,814 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $7,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BBWI. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 135.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBWI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Bath & Body Works stock opened at $30.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.39, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.15. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.21 and a 52-week high of $52.99.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board 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 repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.98%.

About Bath & Body Works

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.