Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires Shares of 25,962 Bath & Body Works, Inc. $BBWI

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 25,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the second quarter worth $33,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 217.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 63.3% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock opened at $19.67 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.20. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.27 and a fifty-two week high of $41.87. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.51.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.05). Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 47.35% and a net margin of 9.50%.The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. Bath & Body Works’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Bath & Body Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.870- EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.700- EPS. Analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bath & Body Works

In other news, Director Francis Hondal acquired 3,343 shares of Bath & Body Works stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.99 per share, with a total value of $50,111.57. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 21,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $323,094.46. This represents a 18.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lucy Brady bought 3,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.40 per share, with a total value of $49,968.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 17,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,740.80. This trade represents a 24.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 33,513 shares of company stock valued at $500,442. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on BBWI shares. Guggenheim started coverage on Bath & Body Works in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $18.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $28.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.61.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc is a leading specialty retailer focused on personal care, home fragrance and complementary products. Through its flagship Bath & Body Works brand, the company offers a diverse assortment of shower gels, lotions, fragrance mists, candles and home fragrance items. Its product portfolio also includes the White Barn Candle Co range of premium scented candles and diffusers. Bath & Body Works serves consumers through a combination of brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platforms, delivering seasonal collections, limited-edition releases and signature scent lines.

Founded in 1990 as part of Limited Brands (now L Brands), Bath & Body Works opened its first store in New Albany, Ohio, and quickly expanded across the United States.