Franklin Resources Inc. Takes $282,000 Position in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,876 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.06% of Build-A-Bear Workshop at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,229,006 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,057,000 after buying an additional 232,840 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 150,619 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 0.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 640,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $16,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 worth $12,863,000 after purchasing an additional 94,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew 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 valued at $8,107,000 after purchasing an additional 47,096 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Build-A-Bear Workshop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Northland Securities boosted their price target on Build-A-Bear Workshop from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Build-A-Bear Workshop news, CEO Sharon Price John sold 48,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total value of $1,700,556.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 416,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,662,934.01. This represents a 10.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director George Carrara sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.27, for a total transaction of $90,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $668,129.67. This represents a 11.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 94,781 shares of company stock valued at $3,414,758 in the last ninety days. 7.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Stock Performance

BBW opened at $46.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $618.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.23 and a 200 day moving average of $33.10. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.24 and a fifty-two week high of $48.23.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share (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 prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s payout ratio is 21.28%.

Build-A-Bear Workshop declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, September 11th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 23.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.