Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,081,977 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,036 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $41,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BBWI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of BBWI opened at $38.51 on Friday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.20 and a twelve month high of $52.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.83.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BBWI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $47.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.63.

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.