Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Purchased by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 1,945.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 193,201 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 183,755 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.09% of Bath & Body Works worth $7,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted 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. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 135.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of BBWI opened at $27.11 on Friday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $52.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.13.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 target price on Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.