Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 1,360,264 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 35.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,178,447 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,360,264 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 2.39% of Bath & Body Works worth $200,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in 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 period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BBWI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price target on Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Five equities research 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, Bath & Body Works has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BBWI opened at $30.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.15. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.