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

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 17,302 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 198% compared to the typical volume of 5,811 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.06.

Institutional Trading of Bath & Body Works

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 27,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth about $270,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $321,000. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

BBWI stock traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.54. 861,204 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,166,032. Bath & Body Works has a one year low of $26.20 and a one year high of $52.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.67.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. Bath & Body Works’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is currently 19.51%.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc operates a specialty retailer of home fragrance, body care, and soaps and sanitizer products. It sells its products under the Bath & Body Works, White Barn, and other brand names through retail stores and e-commerce sites located in the United States and Canada, as well as through international stores operated by partners under franchise, license, and wholesale arrangements.