Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Stake Cut by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 502,662 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,281 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.23% of Bath & Body Works worth $19,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in 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 worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position 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. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 24.2% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BBWI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday. Barclays raised their target price on Bath & Body Works from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.63.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

NYSE BBWI opened at $38.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.83. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.20 and a 12 month high of $52.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.87.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.51%.

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.