Swiss National Bank Cuts Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 34.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 409,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 219,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $15,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BBWI shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBWI opened at $29.97 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.99. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.21 and a 1-year high of $52.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid 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 yield of 2.67%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is currently 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.