Principal Securities Inc. Sells 1,759 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Principal Securities Inc. decreased its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 42.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,344 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,759 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $91,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

BBWI opened at $41.04 on Thursday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.20 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $37.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.07.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBWI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $34.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.44.

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.