DnB Asset Management AS Has $37.02 Million Stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 954,830 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 149,453 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $37,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BBWI. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 44,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth $1,350,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $73,572,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 105.3% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 641,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,864,000 after purchasing an additional 328,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 36,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of BBWI opened at $31.93 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.21 and a 1 year high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

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.