First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 274,876 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 99.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 550,759 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 274,876 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $21,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 52,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after buying an additional 12,964 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 88,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,428,000 after purchasing an additional 4,625 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,704,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,088,000 after purchasing an additional 195,813 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth $1,350,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,178,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360,264 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.69.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

NYSE:BBWI opened at $29.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 7.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.96 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.84.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.