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

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 21,124 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 260% compared to the average volume of 5,875 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.44.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at $343,000. American Trust purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $205,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,920,000. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth about $576,000. Finally, Northwest Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 14,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

BBWI stock opened at $35.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. Bath & Body Works has a one year low of $26.20 and a one year high of $52.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $37.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.08.

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

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.51%.

About Bath & Body Works

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.