Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 30,657 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 73.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,657 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings 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 last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $3,428,000 after purchasing an additional 4,625 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 13.0% during the 4th 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. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,350,000. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $39.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Four 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, Bath & Body Works has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.56.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $31.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.87. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.96 and a 52-week high of $52.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $30.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.01.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. Analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board 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.