Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Raises Holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 754 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Build-A-Bear Workshop worth $807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BBW. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 705.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 211.8% during the second 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 Build-A-Bear Workshop by 17.6% during the third 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 boosted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 25.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,782 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 209.8% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,098 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,484 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BBW. Northland Securities increased their price target on Build-A-Bear Workshop from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Build-A-Bear Workshop from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Activity at Build-A-Bear Workshop

In related news, CFO Vojin Todorovic sold 12,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 90,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,212,416.90. This trade represents a 12.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sharon Price John sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 465,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,493,933.28. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 130,734 shares of company stock valued at $4,510,217. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Price Performance

Shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop stock opened at $36.28 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.13. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.24 and a 12 month high of $40.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $490.51 million, a P/E ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 1.54.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $111.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.47%.

Build-A-Bear Workshop declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.