Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 1,818 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,777 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,818 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $1,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBWI. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth $301,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth about $2,150,000. Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth about $131,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,321,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 293,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,377,000 after acquiring an additional 118,165 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of BBWI stock opened at $32.19 on Wednesday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $26.21 and a one year high of $52.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 7.85, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. As a group, research 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 of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.