Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 17.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 394,484 shares of the company's stock after selling 80,732 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.18% of Bath & Body Works worth $15,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

NYSE BBWI traded up $0.26 on Wednesday, reaching $30.24. The stock had a trading volume of 5,886,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,092,079. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.21 and a 12-month high of $52.99. The business's 50-day moving average price is $36.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.99. The stock has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

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

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $46.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised Bath & Body Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.06.

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.