Riposte Capital LLC Purchases New Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Riposte Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 260,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,080,000. Bath & Body Works makes up approximately 1.9% of Riposte Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Riposte Capital LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Bath & Body Works at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BBWI. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $80,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,501,828 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter valued at about $50,483,000. Senvest Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,537,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,153,000 after buying an additional 820,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 111.8% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 1,345,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,957,000 after acquiring an additional 710,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup raised Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $30.24 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.99. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.21 and a 12 month high of $52.99. The company 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.