United Services Automobile Association Buys New Stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $32.47 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.01. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.21 and a 52 week high of $52.99. The firm has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

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

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BBWI shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.