Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Grows Stock Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 334.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,876 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,890 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $2,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. 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 worth $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 135.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $29.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.81. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.96 and a 52-week high of $52.99. The company has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 7.24, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS 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 issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BBWI. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.69.

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.