Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Up 8.3% on Insider Buying Activity

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) traded up 8.3% on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $16.88 and last traded at $16.8440. 4,939,699 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 5,902,269 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.56.

Specifically, Director Lucy Brady bought 3,470 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.40 per share, for a total transaction of $49,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,740.80. The trade was a 24.76% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Francis Hondal purchased 3,343 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.99 per share, for a total transaction of $50,111.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,094.46. The trade was a 18.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In other Bath & Body Works news, Director Stephen D. Steinour acquired 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.86 per share, with a total value of $99,562.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 48,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,880.50. This trade represents a 16.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBWI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $18.00 target price (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Bath & Body Works from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $39.00 to $17.00 in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $28.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Bath & Body Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.84.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 5.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.00.

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

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bath & Body Works

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 91.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 101,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,619,000 after buying an additional 48,525 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,256,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the third quarter valued at about $263,000. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.