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

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

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

Build-A-Bear Workshop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBW traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $37.73. The company had a trading volume of 214,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 231,833. Build-A-Bear Workshop has a twelve month low of $21.24 and a twelve month high of $37.97. The stock has a market cap of $520.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.81.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $111.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.90 million. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 37.81%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Build-A-Bear Workshop will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, September 11th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 23.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Eric R. Fencl sold 17,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $605,453.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 137,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,804,583.90. This represents a 0.00 % 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. In other news, CAO Eric R. Fencl sold 17,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $605,453.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 137,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,804,583.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George Carrara sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.27, for a total transaction of $90,675.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $668,129.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 130,734 shares of company stock worth $4,510,217 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Build-A-Bear Workshop

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBW. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 81.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 360,329 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $8,284,000 after purchasing an additional 161,700 shares during the period. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC now owns 996,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,755,000 after buying an additional 349,752 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 7.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 256,979 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,494,000 after buying an additional 17,772 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 7.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 63,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 4,384 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 4.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 63,055 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,885,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.