Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BBW. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop in a report on Friday, March 14th. Northland Securities upped their price target on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Stock Performance

NYSE BBW opened at $37.39 on Friday. Build-A-Bear Workshop has a 52 week low of $23.63 and a 52 week high of $48.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $502.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 1.50.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.07. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a return on equity of 38.35% and a net margin of 10.58%. The firm had revenue of $150.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.53 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Build-A-Bear Workshop will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from Build-A-Bear Workshop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 27th. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sharon Price John sold 53,962 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.02, for a total value of $2,267,483.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 293,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,347,913.16. This represents a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Vojin Todorovic sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.08, for a total transaction of $200,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,455.60. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 161,666 shares of company stock worth $7,010,081 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BBW. De Lisle Partners LLP raised its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 25.9% in the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 732,911 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,187,000 after purchasing an additional 150,619 shares during the last quarter. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,631,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 396.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 129,801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 103,656 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 269.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 137,922 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,350,000 after acquiring an additional 100,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 34.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 372,168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,863,000 after purchasing an additional 94,986 shares during the period. 79.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.