Natixis Takes $1.08 Million Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Natixis purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 27,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,077,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,199,787 shares of the company's stock worth $1,093,306,000 after acquiring an additional 208,036 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,360,264 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 79.1% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,882,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715,096 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,050,189 shares of the company's stock worth $118,256,000 after buying an additional 534,062 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,144,292 shares of the company's stock worth $83,135,000 after purchasing an additional 313,092 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

NYSE BBWI traded down $0.44 on Tuesday, hitting $30.78. The company had a trading volume of 528,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,777,648. The company has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 7.52, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.96 and a 12-month high of $52.99. The company's fifty day moving average price is $31.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.86.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBWI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler raised Bath & Body Works from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $38.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.69.

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.