Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 5,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 52,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 12,964 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,129,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,704,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,088,000 after acquiring an additional 195,813 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth $1,350,000. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 107.4% in the 4th quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 26,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 13,850 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BBWI shares. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.31.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of BBWI opened at $25.43 on Wednesday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $52.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.76 and a 200-day moving average of $34.06. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.20, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The firm 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

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