VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New $2.69 Million Investment in Bath & Body Works, Inc. $BBWI

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 116,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,691,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 92.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 28,815 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 645,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,586,000 after purchasing an additional 87,529 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 562,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,063,000 after purchasing an additional 36,684 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,155,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 1.5%

BBWI stock opened at $17.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.38. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.27 and a 12-month high of $28.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.63.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.38. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 10.83% and a negative return on equity of 53.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Bath & Body Works has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.070-0.120 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.600-2.800 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 20.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BBWI. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Citigroup raised shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.13.

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.