Bath & Body Works Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:BBWI)

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 37,402 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 504% compared to the average daily volume of 6,193 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BBWI. D1 Capital Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $109,797,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,572,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,882,047 shares of the company's stock worth $150,507,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715,096 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 3,642.2% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,651,109 shares of the company's stock worth $50,062,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,178,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360,264 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.42. 4,852,461 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,735,779. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.84. The company has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. Bath & Body Works has a 1 year low of $24.96 and a 1 year high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. As a group, 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 initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

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.