American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 50,933 Shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. $BBW

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 11.8%, owning 482,641 shares valued at approximately $17.94 million.
• Insider trading activities included Director Lesli Rotenberg selling 1,755 shares, reducing their ownership by 12.92%, while Director Craig Leavitt sold 8,250 shares, which was a 10.23% decrease in their holdings.
• Build-A-Bear Workshop reported a net revenue of $128.4 million and earnings per share of $1.17 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW - Free Report) by 11.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 482,641 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 50,933 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 3.65% of Build-A-Bear Workshop worth $17,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 48,954 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop in the 1st quarter worth $1,131,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 58,189 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,539 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop in the 1st quarter worth $1,538,000. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop in the first quarter valued at about $313,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $64.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Stock Down 9.7%

Shares of BBW traded down $6.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.54. 793,586 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 277,997. The company's fifty day moving average price is $53.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.75. The company has a market capitalization of $799.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 0.70. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.32 and a 12 month high of $70.01.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $124.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.19 million. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 42.37%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Build-A-Bear Workshop's payout ratio is presently 19.73%.

Insider Activity at Build-A-Bear Workshop

In other news, Director Craig Leavitt sold 8,250 shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total transaction of $414,232.50. Following the sale, the director owned 72,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,634,802.32. The trade was a 10.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sharon Price John sold 31,250 shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.73, for a total transaction of $1,429,062.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 291,305 shares in the company, valued at $13,321,377.65. The trade was a 9.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 48,248 shares of company stock worth $2,276,383. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Build-A-Bear Workshop 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.