Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Acquired by PDS Planning Inc

PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,606 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake 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 worth $2,046,000 after buying an additional 12,964 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the third quarter valued at $8,129,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 19.1% in the third quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,467,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,851,000 after purchasing an additional 235,173 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,704,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,088,000 after purchasing an additional 195,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anthracite Investment Company Inc. purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works in the third quarter valued at about $2,921,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE BBWI opened at $29.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.31, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.21 and a twelve month high of $52.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.99.

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

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upgraded Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.06.

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.