Aristeia Capital L.L.C. Buys 2,568 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Aristeia Capital L.L.C. increased its position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 28.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,492 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,568 shares during the quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C.’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,220,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,675,000 after buying an additional 177,373 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 171,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,420,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth about $170,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 116,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,034,000 after purchasing an additional 7,867 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBWI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (down from $52.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Bath & Body Works from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:BBWI opened at $30.07 on Wednesday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.20 and a twelve month high of $52.99. The stock has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.53.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 41.94% and a net margin of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. On average, analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.62%.

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.