Earnest Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. $BBWI

Earnest Partners LLC reduced its stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,255,982 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,943 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $32,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 47,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 16,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 2.8% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 25,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1.4% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 56,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after buying an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of BBWI opened at $19.46 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.48. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.27 and a 52-week high of $34.66.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 8.90% and a negative return on equity of 45.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Bath & Body Works has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.240-0.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.400-2.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $26.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $33.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Bath & Body Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Key Stories Impacting Bath & Body Works

Here are the key news stories impacting Bath & Body Works this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bath & Body Works says it will offer fewer discounts in 2026, a deliberate move to protect gross margins and improve profitability if execution sustains. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage notes a “major change customers will notice” (likely tied to merchandising/discounting strategy) that could lift average selling prices and margins. Investors often reward visibility on margin recovery. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Telsey Advisory raised BBWI’s price target to $25 while keeping a Market Perform rating — a signal that some analysts are modeling better margin outcomes even if the view remains cautious. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector spotlight: Bath & Body Works was listed among consumer discretionary stocks worth watching, which can drive trading interest but is not a direct catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Numerous law firms (Rosen, Faruqi, Glancy, Pomerantz, Schall, Gross, Bernstein Liebhard, DJS, others) are soliciting Bath & Body Works investors about a securities‑fraud class action and urging lead‑plaintiff filings ahead of a March 16 deadline — increasing headline risk and the potential for costly litigation or settlement. Representative notice: Rosen Law Firm. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Additional plaintiff‑firm alerts increase the likelihood of consolidation into a lead plaintiff and amplify settlement/defense cost uncertainty; see Glancy/PR Newswire notices for more detail. Article Title

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.