Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires 5,035 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,585,460 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,035 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $61,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BBWI. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BBWI. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup raised Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 target price on Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of BBWI opened at $29.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 7.14, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $36.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.07. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.20 and a 1 year high of $52.99.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.