Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 67.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 293,466 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 118,165 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.14% of Bath & Body Works worth $11,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 17,496.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,516,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,315,000 after buying an additional 2,501,828 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the third quarter worth $50,483,000. Senvest Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter worth $30,537,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 820,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 111.8% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 1,345,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,957,000 after buying an additional 710,333 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of BBWI opened at $30.24 on Friday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $26.21 and a one year high of $52.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.95. The stock has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.38, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBWI has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.06.

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.