Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Bath & Body Works Put Options (NYSE:BBWI)

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 179.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 30,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 19,297 shares during the last quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $343,000. American Trust acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,920,000. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $576,000. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $30.19 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.99. The firm has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. Bath & Body Works has a 1 year low of $26.21 and a 1 year high of $52.99.

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

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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 restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

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.