Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 126.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,559 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 44,414 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $2,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 94.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 65.9% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $122,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler set a $39.00 target price on Bath & Body Works and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Bath & Body Works from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.00.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 1.9%

Bath & Body Works stock traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $32.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,495,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,259,105. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.94 and a 52 week high of $41.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.21. The stock has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.72.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.33%.

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.