Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Takes $285,000 Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBWI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in 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. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake 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. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of BBWI opened at $32.19 on Wednesday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.21 and a 1 year high of $52.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.03. The firm has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.85, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, 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 business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. On average, sell-side 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 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BBWI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.06.

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.