Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Increases Stock Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 105.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 641,331 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 328,942 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 0.30% of Bath & Body Works worth $24,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the 4th 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. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew 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 buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price target on Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

BBWI opened at $31.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.00. The stock has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.21 and a 12 month high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The company 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

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

Bath & Body Works 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.