MQS Management LLC Takes Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 13,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 31,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens & Northern Corp boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 29,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on BBWI. Raymond James dropped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Bath & Body Works from $60.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.44.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of BBWI opened at $31.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 7.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.18 and a 200 day moving average of $36.49. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.20 and a 52-week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 41.94% and a net margin of 12.69%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 19.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gina Boswell purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,202,134.68. This represents a 2.53 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc operates a specialty retailer of home fragrance, body care, and soaps and sanitizer products. It sells its products under the Bath & Body Works, White Barn, and other brand names through retail stores and e-commerce sites located in the United States and Canada, as well as through international stores operated by partners under franchise, license, and wholesale arrangements.