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

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Northland Securities increased their price target on 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. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Price Performance

Shares of BBW stock opened at $43.78 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $588.40 million, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $38.61 and its 200 day moving average is $31.84. Build-A-Bear Workshop has a 1-year low of $21.24 and a 1-year high of $47.01.

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

Build-A-Bear Workshop declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 11th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 23.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Build-A-Bear Workshop

In other news, Director Craig Leavitt sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $103,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 78,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,987.12. This represents a 3.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Eric R. Fencl sold 17,274 shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total value of $605,453.70. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 137,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,804,583.90. This represents a 11.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 94,781 shares of company stock worth $3,414,758 over the last three months. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Build-A-Bear Workshop

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