Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Stake Increased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 740.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 105,900 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,300 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $4,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBWI. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,273,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 6,291 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 142.0% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,752 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter valued at $206,000. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 1.7 %

BBWI stock opened at $36.05 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.67. The company has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.83. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.20 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99.

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

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BBWI. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Bath & Body Works from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.19.

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.