Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Invests $276,000 in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works, purchasing 9,108 shares valued at approximately $276,000 during the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts show a favorable outlook, with Citigroup raising its price target from $36.00 to $42.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for the stock.
• Bath & Body Works has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, which indicates a 2.8% annual dividend yield and a payout ratio of 21.33%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth $242,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 26,117 shares of the company's stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 8,511 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 610.6% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 57,508 shares of the company's stock worth $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 49,415 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 331.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,144,608 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,376,000 after buying an additional 879,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1,945.3% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 193,201 shares of the company's stock worth $7,490,000 after buying an additional 183,755 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock traded up $0.16 on Wednesday, hitting $29.09. The stock had a trading volume of 5,129,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,153,757. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $24.94 and a one year high of $41.87. The stock has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.76, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.54. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $29.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.73.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 47.44% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on BBWI. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bath & Body Works from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.19.

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.