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

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 37,996 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 549% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,859 put options.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 6.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BBWI traded up $1.70 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $28.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,572,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,309,798. Bath & Body Works has a 52-week low of $26.20 and a 52-week high of $52.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.29. The stock has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.77.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,398,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,370,458,000 after buying an additional 1,102,124 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 15.8% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 11,315,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,399 shares during the last quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the second quarter valued at about $113,995,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth about $101,669,000. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 2,088,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,564,000 after buying an additional 189,889 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BBWI. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

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.