Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 325,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,628,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC owned about 0.15% of Bath & Body Works as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 52,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 12,964 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 88,423 shares of the company's stock worth $3,428,000 after acquiring an additional 4,625 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,704,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,088,000 after purchasing an additional 195,813 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth about $1,350,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 35.6% in 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. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BBWI shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.88.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

NYSE BBWI traded down $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.08. 561,849 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,784,111. The firm has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.87. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $30.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.82. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.96 and a 12-month high of $52.99.

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

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.