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

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 21,124 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 260% compared to the typical volume of 5,875 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BBWI. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays raised Bath & Body Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $34.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.44.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 12.2 %

Bath & Body Works stock traded down $5.00 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.08. 4,714,683 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,511,611. Bath & Body Works has a fifty-two week low of $26.20 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99. The firm has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.07.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is 19.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBWI. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $343,000. American Trust acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at $2,920,000. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth $576,000. Finally, Northwest Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 14,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.