Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Acquired by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 59,149 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $2,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 764.5% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 138,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,361,000 after buying an additional 122,282 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1,661.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 8,690 shares during the last quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp increased its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 69.5% during the 4th quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 33,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,311,000 after buying an additional 13,860 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,948,000 after purchasing an additional 12,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 513,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,910,000 after purchasing an additional 142,753 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of BBWI stock opened at $39.99 on Tuesday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $26.20 and a one year high of $52.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.83.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $34.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.19.

Bath & Body Works 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.