Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $1.56 Million Stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,760 shares of the company’s stock after selling 578 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $1,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BBWI. Anomaly Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $113,995,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 17,496.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,516,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,501,828 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 9,023.5% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,701,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,160 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter worth $50,483,000. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 15.8% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 11,315,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,399 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $39.27 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.38. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.20 and a 1 year high of $52.99. The firm has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.83.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is presently 19.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bath & Body Works

In related news, CEO Gina Boswell acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.64 per share, with a total value of $177,840.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at $7,202,134.68. The trade was a 2.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $60.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $52.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.50.

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.