Hills Bank & Trust Co Grows Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,174 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,585,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,546,000 after acquiring an additional 5,035 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 4,494.7% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 548,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,255,000 after buying an additional 536,305 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

NYSE BBWI opened at $29.54 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.21 and a 12 month high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BBWI shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Five equities research 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, Bath & Body Works has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.