Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Monday after the company announced a dividend. 9,391,517 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 146% from the previous session's volume of 3,811,113 shares.The stock last traded at $31.58 and had previously closed at $30.00.The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is currently 19.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on BBWI shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays downgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.44.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 5.5 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.87. The stock has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.79.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.69% and a negative return on equity of 41.94%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gina Boswell bought 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 242,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,202,134.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BBWI. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 5.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the first quarter valued at approximately $451,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 148.9% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 26,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,325,000 after acquiring an additional 15,842 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

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.

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