Nicolet Bankshares Inc. Acquires 463 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Nicolet Bankshares Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,232 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc.’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 52,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after acquiring an additional 12,964 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the third quarter worth about $8,129,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,704,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,088,000 after buying an additional 195,813 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,350,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,178,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,768,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360,264 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Bath & Body Works stock opened at $26.54 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.98. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.96 and a 1-year high of $52.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.47, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The business 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BBWI. 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 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.06.

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.