Bridgewater Associates LP Grows Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 121.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 652,002 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 357,175 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.30% of Bath & Body Works worth $25,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during 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 during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 135.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BBWI traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.42. 4,852,461 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,735,779. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $52.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 6.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. The business's 50 day moving average is $32.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.84.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Bath & Body Works from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $38.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.13.

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.