StockNews.com Upgrades Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) to “Buy”

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

Separately, Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBW opened at $38.07 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.53. Build-A-Bear Workshop has a 1 year low of $21.24 and a 1 year high of $39.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $514.71 million, a PE ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 1.55.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.07. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a return on equity of 37.81% and a net margin of 10.36%. The company had revenue of $111.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Build-A-Bear Workshop will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, September 11th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 23.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sharon Price John sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total value of $1,666,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 465,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,493,933.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Sharon Price John sold 50,000 shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total value of $1,666,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 465,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,493,933.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vojin Todorovic sold 12,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.42, for a total value of $447,531.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,212,416.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 130,734 shares of company stock worth $4,510,217 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 705.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 211.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,889 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,782 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 1,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 209.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,098 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 5,484 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Company Profile

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.