Barclays PLC Purchases 13,810 Shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) by 311.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,246 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,810 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop were worth $627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BBW. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 705.8% during the 3rd 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. Quarry LP grew its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 346.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,295 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 211.8% in the 2nd 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 raised its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 17.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 209.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,098 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 5,484 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Build-A-Bear Workshop

In other news, CFO Vojin Todorovic sold 12,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.42, for a total transaction of $447,531.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,212,416.90. This trade represents a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig Leavitt sold 2,500 shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 3.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 94,781 shares of company stock valued at $3,414,758. 7.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBW has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Price Performance

BBW stock opened at $46.04 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.23 and its 200-day moving average is $33.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $618.78 million, a PE ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 1.53. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.24 and a 1 year high of $48.23.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Announces Dividend

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

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.