Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) is Forest Avenue Capital Management LP's 5th Largest Position

Forest Avenue Capital Management LP lifted its position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 39.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,044,191 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 576,428 shares during the quarter. Bath & Body Works accounts for 7.2% of Forest Avenue Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP owned about 0.94% of Bath & Body Works worth $79,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 52,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 12,964 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,129,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 195,813 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,350,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 88,423 shares of the company's stock worth $3,428,000 after buying an additional 4,625 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 3.4 %

BBWI stock traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,852,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,727,089. The company has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $52.99. The business's 50 day moving average price is $32.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.86.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) 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. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBWI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays cut their target price on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.13.

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.