UPDATE 3-Victoria's Secret parent sees weak qtr, shares drop

* Q4 adj EPS $1.50 vs est $1.46

* Sees Q1 $0.35-$0.40 vs est $0.44

* Says Feb comparable store sales up mid to high single digit

* Sees FY12 EPS $2.60-$2.80 vs est $2.91

* Shares down 3.3 percent after-hours (Recasts first paragraph, adds quarterly forecast, updates share movement)

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Victoria's Secret parent Limited Brands Inc posted a smaller quarterly profit and forecast earnings that could miss analyst expectations, sending its shares down more than 3 percent after the markets closed.

The company, which also operates the Bath & Body Works and La Senza chains, expects to earn between 35 and 40 cents a share in the first quarter, while analysts were expecting it to earn 44 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Limited Brands, which has outperformed most peers in the industry in the past year, expects February comparable-store sales to rise in the mid to high single-digit range.

The company gave no reason for the earnings forecast. It will hold a conference call with analysts on Thursday.

For the fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 28, the Columbus, Ohio-based company earned $359.4 million, or $1.17 a share, compared with $452.3 million, or $1.36 a share a year earlier.

Adjusting for some La Senza store closures and other items, Limited Brands earned $1.50 a share, topping analysts' estimates of $1.46.

Sales rose 2 percent to $3.52 billion.

Limited Brands shares were trading down at $44 after the bell. They closed at $45.48 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Chicago; Editing by Berrnard Orr and Matthew Lewis)