Man Group plc Acquires New Stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. $BBWI

Man Group plc acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 980,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,670,000. Man Group plc owned about 0.49% of Bath & Body Works as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the second quarter valued at $1,830,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $13,651,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,110,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,706,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,143,000. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBWI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $23.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, May 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.57.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

NYSE BBWI opened at $18.92 on Thursday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $14.27 and a one year high of $32.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.01.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.38. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 10.03% and a negative return on equity of 45.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Bath & Body Works has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.070-0.120 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.600-2.800 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.47%.

More Bath & Body Works News

Here are the key news stories impacting Bath & Body Works this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bath & Body Works reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.62, well above the $0.24 analyst consensus, while revenue of $1.51 billion slightly exceeded expectations. Bath & Body Works Q2 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.60-$2.80, above its previous range of $2.40-$2.65 and ahead of the roughly $2.56 consensus. The company also reiterated revenue expectations of approximately $7.5-$7.6 billion. Bath & Body Works Raises Earnings Outlook on Higher Profit
• Positive Sentiment: Digital demand and direct-channel sales growth are offsetting weaker physical-store traffic. Management also highlighted ongoing transformation initiatives, including planned cost savings, stronger cash flow and potential balance-sheet improvement that could support future shareholder returns. Bath & Body Works lifts annual profit forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings call and bullish commentary frame BBWI as a discounted turnaround opportunity, but investors will likely require sustained sales growth and execution before assigning a higher valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter net sales declined 2.3% year over year, and third-quarter adjusted EPS guidance of only $0.07-$0.12 is substantially below the approximately $0.27 consensus. The outlook reflects continued near-term pressure from store traffic and seasonality. Bath & Body Works falls despite earnings beat
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy put-option activity ahead of the report signaled elevated bearish hedging and helps explain the stock’s volatility despite the earnings beat.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc is a leading specialty retailer focused on personal care, home fragrance and complementary products. Through its flagship Bath & Body Works brand, the company offers a diverse assortment of shower gels, lotions, fragrance mists, candles and home fragrance items. Its product portfolio also includes the White Barn Candle Co range of premium scented candles and diffusers. Bath & Body Works serves consumers through a combination of brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platforms, delivering seasonal collections, limited-edition releases and signature scent lines.

Founded in 1990 as part of Limited Brands (now L Brands), Bath & Body Works opened its first store in New Albany, Ohio, and quickly expanded across the United States.