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

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 16,219 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 157% compared to the typical volume of 6,317 put options.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock opened at $29.97 on Wednesday. Bath & Body Works has a one year low of $26.21 and a one year high of $52.99. The company has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.31, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.99.

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

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

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,199,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,093,306,000 after purchasing an additional 208,036 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,235,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $396,815,000 after buying an additional 422,973 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,494,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,317,000 after acquiring an additional 445,887 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,178,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,768,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360,264 shares during the period. Finally, Anomaly Capital Management LP increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP now owns 4,860,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,456,000 after buying an additional 1,346,752 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.