Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Takes Position in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. $BBW

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC has acquired 30,431 shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., valued at approximately $1.13 million, bringing its total ownership to 0.23% of the company.
• Several hedge funds have increased their stakes in Build-A-Bear Workshop, which is now nearly 79.30% owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Build-A-Bear Workshop announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 21.15%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 30,431 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,131,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned 0.23% of Build-A-Bear Workshop at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BBW. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,631,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 396.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 129,801 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 103,656 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 269.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 137,922 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,350,000 after acquiring an additional 100,633 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop during the first quarter worth $3,154,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 138.1% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 115,885 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,307,000 after acquiring an additional 67,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.30% of the company's stock.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Price Performance

Build-A-Bear Workshop stock traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.52. The stock had a trading volume of 318,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,643. The stock has a market capitalization of $746.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 0.70. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.44 and a 1-year high of $59.78. The stock's fifty day moving average is $52.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.00.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $128.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.90 million. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a return on equity of 40.74% and a net margin of 10.91%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Build-A-Bear Workshop's dividend payout ratio is 21.15%.

Insider Transactions at Build-A-Bear Workshop

In other news, Director Lesli Rotenberg sold 1,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.52, for a total value of $93,927.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,825 shares in the company, valued at $632,874. This represents a 12.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig Leavitt sold 8,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total value of $414,232.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 72,392 shares in the company, valued at $3,634,802.32. This represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,248 shares of company stock worth $2,276,383 over the last ninety days. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BBW shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Build-A-Bear Workshop from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Build-A-Bear Workshop from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Build-A-Bear Workshop from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Build-A-Bear Workshop currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $52.67.

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.