Bath & Body Works Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BBWI)

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 16,219 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 157% compared to the typical volume of 6,317 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBWI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.06.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of BBWI opened at $29.97 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.99. The stock has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. Bath & Body Works has a fifty-two week low of $26.21 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. Equities research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.