Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $420,000 Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 73.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,825 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,657 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBWI. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter valued at $109,797,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter valued at $73,572,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,882,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,507,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715,096 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,178,447 shares of the company's stock worth $200,768,000 after buying an additional 1,360,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anomaly Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP now owns 4,860,876 shares of the company's stock worth $188,456,000 after buying an additional 1,346,752 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BBWI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $39.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.56.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 0.5%

BBWI traded up $0.15 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.42. 3,475,646 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,899,888. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $52.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 7.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.03.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.