QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 7,025 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,473 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,025 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $2,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 17,496.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,516,127 shares of the company's stock worth $80,315,000 after buying an additional 2,501,828 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 9,023.5% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,701,813 shares of the company's stock worth $54,322,000 after buying an additional 1,683,160 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,483,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,467,763 shares of the company's stock worth $46,851,000 after buying an additional 235,173 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 111.8% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 1,345,777 shares of the company's stock worth $42,957,000 after buying an additional 710,333 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on BBWI shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock traded down $0.49 on Thursday, hitting $34.13. 1,750,149 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,806,956. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $37.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.18. The company has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 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.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for 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%. Analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.