Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Has $15.29 Million Stock Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 394,484 shares of the company’s stock after selling 80,732 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $15,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 17,496.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,516,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,315,000 after buying an additional 2,501,828 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $66,088,000 after acquiring an additional 195,813 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 9,023.5% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,701,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,160 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,585,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,546,000 after acquiring an additional 5,035 shares during the period. Finally, Forest Avenue Capital Management LP lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,467,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,851,000 after acquiring an additional 235,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BBWI. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of BBWI opened at $29.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.36 and a 200-day moving average of $33.99. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $26.21 and a one year high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during 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%. Analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Company 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.