Sciencast Management LP Makes New Investment in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 12,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $619,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BBWI. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 3.6% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its position in Bath & Body Works by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 33,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 72.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on BBWI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $53.00 in a report on Friday, May 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.13.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:BBWI traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.35. 2,664,819 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,846,321. The firm has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.85. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.30 and a twelve month high of $52.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $44.41 and its 200-day moving average is $44.78.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 11.92% and a negative return on equity of 40.00%. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is currently 20.62%.

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.