Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases Shares of 26,600 Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired 26,600 shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc., contributing to a total investment of approximately $807,000 in the first quarter.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a quarterly EPS of $0.49, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.47, though revenue fell short of expectations at $1.40 billion.
• Bath & Body Works declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.8% and a payout ratio of 21.33%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 26,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $807,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $242,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 26,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 8,511 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 610.6% in the fourth 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 331.6% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1,945.3% in 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 during the period. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBWI traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $28.78. 4,643,256 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,956,341. The company's 50 day moving average price is $29.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.81. The firm has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 8.19, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.54. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.94 and a 52 week high of $41.87.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays reduced their price target on Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.