Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI)

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 32,335 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 108% compared to the typical volume of 15,509 call options.

Insider Activity at Bath & Body Works

In related news, Director Francis Hondal bought 3,343 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.99 per share, for a total transaction of $50,111.57. Following the purchase, the director owned 21,554 shares in the company, valued at $323,094.46. This represents a 18.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen D. Steinour bought 6,700 shares of Bath & Body Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.86 per share, with a total value of $99,562.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 48,175 shares in the company, valued at $715,880.50. This trade represents a 16.15% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders bought 33,513 shares of company stock valued at $500,442. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the second quarter worth about $33,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 217.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 63.3% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

NYSE BBWI opened at $17.40 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.83. Bath & Body Works has a 52-week low of $14.27 and a 52-week high of $41.87. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 5.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.05). Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 9.88% and a negative return on equity of 48.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Bath & Body Works’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Bath & Body Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.870- EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.700- EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is presently 24.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBWI has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Baird R W downgraded Bath & Body Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bath & Body Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Bath & Body Works from $33.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.17.

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.