Royce & Associates LP Takes $1.28 Million Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 32,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted 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 during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 135.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

NYSE BBWI opened at $30.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.93. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.21 and a 52-week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. On average, analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared 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 reacquire 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup upgraded Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Company 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.