Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Northland Securities upped their price objective on Build-A-Bear Workshop from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Stock Up 2.4 %

BBW stock opened at $43.78 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $38.78 and a 200 day moving average of $31.95. Build-A-Bear Workshop has a twelve month low of $21.24 and a twelve month high of $47.01. The firm has a market cap of $588.40 million, a PE ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.53.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 10.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Build-A-Bear Workshop will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 23.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.28%.

Insider Transactions at Build-A-Bear Workshop

In other news, Director Lesli Rotenberg sold 2,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.10, for a total value of $101,640.30. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,724 shares in the company, valued at $481,856.40. This trade represents a 17.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Craig Leavitt sold 2,500 shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $103,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,232,987.12. The trade was a 3.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,781 shares of company stock worth $3,414,758 over the last three months. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BBW. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC grew its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 23.4% during the second quarter. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,229,006 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,057,000 after buying an additional 232,840 shares during the period. De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 732,911 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,187,000 after acquiring an additional 150,619 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 372,168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,863,000 after acquiring an additional 94,986 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 261.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 105,847 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,638,000 after purchasing an additional 76,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 320,832 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,107,000 after purchasing an additional 47,096 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

About Build-A-Bear Workshop

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc operates as a multi-channel retailer of plush animals and related products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Direct-to-Consumer, Commercial, and International Franchising. Its merchandise comprises various styles of plush products to be stuffed, pre-stuffed plush products, and sounds and scents that can be added to the stuffed animals, as well as range of clothing, shoes and accessories, and other toy and novelty items, including family sleepwear.