Weiss Asset Management LP Acquires 84,873 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Weiss Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 29.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 377,969 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,873 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP owned 0.17% of Bath & Body Works worth $12,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,921,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 19.1% during the third quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,467,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,851,000 after acquiring an additional 235,173 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,153,000 after purchasing an additional 820,379 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 18.1% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 266,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,498,000 after purchasing an additional 40,793 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 404.4% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 134,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,295,000 after purchasing an additional 107,868 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 3.5 %

Bath & Body Works stock opened at $36.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.23. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.20 and a 1-year high of $52.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.83.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on BBWI shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $52.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.88.

Insider Activity at Bath & Body Works

In other news, CEO Gina Boswell purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.64 per share, with a total value of $177,840.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,202,134.68. The trade was a 2.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc operates a specialty retailer of home fragrance, body care, and soaps and sanitizer products. It sells its products under the Bath & Body Works, White Barn, and other brand names through retail stores and e-commerce sites located in the United States and Canada, as well as through international stores operated by partners under franchise, license, and wholesale arrangements.