Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 44,627 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 8.1% during the first quarter, now owning 592,864 shares valued at approximately $17.98 million.
• Several institutional investors have also raised their stakes, with significant increases from Blueshift Asset Management LLC (27.2%) and Shufro Rose & Co. LLC (54.2%) in the same period.
• Bath & Body Works reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.49, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 representing an annual yield of 2.8%.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 592,864 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,627 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.28% of Bath & Body Works worth $17,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 94.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 65.9% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,501 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 44.3% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,305 shares of the company's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth about $122,000. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 2.7%

BBWI stock traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.71. 1,253,963 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,125,452. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.94 and a 52-week high of $41.87. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.92, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.54. The stock's 50-day moving average is $29.75 and its 200 day moving average is $31.73.

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

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.7%. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BBWI shares. Piper Sandler set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.19.

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.