Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 28,048 Shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop, acquiring an additional 28,048 shares, bringing its total holdings to 44,932 shares valued at approximately $1.67 million.
• Build-A-Bear Workshop recently received upgrades from Wall Street analysts, with DA Davidson raising the price target from $50 to $60 and Wall Street Zen upgrading the stock from "buy" to "strong-buy."
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, which was paid on July 10th, reflecting a 1.72% yield and a payout ratio of 21.15%.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW - Free Report) by 166.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,932 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 28,048 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Build-A-Bear Workshop worth $1,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 291,990 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $13,443,000 after purchasing an additional 61,111 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 269.9% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 137,922 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,350,000 after purchasing an additional 100,633 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 396.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 129,801 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 103,656 shares during the period. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop in the fourth quarter valued at $5,631,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 121,863 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $5,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBW has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Build-A-Bear Workshop from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Build-A-Bear Workshop from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Build-A-Bear Workshop from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Stock Performance

Shares of BBW stock traded down $1.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.31. 259,238 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 172,459. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.63 and a 12 month high of $55.56. The company has a market cap of $651.34 million, a P/E ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.70. The company's 50 day moving average price is $50.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.67.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.31. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 40.74%. The company had revenue of $128.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $118.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Build-A-Bear Workshop's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.15%.

Insider Transactions at Build-A-Bear Workshop

In other Build-A-Bear Workshop news, CEO Sharon Price John sold 31,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.73, for a total transaction of $1,429,062.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 291,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,321,377.65. This represents a 9.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Eric R. Fencl sold 6,993 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.50, for a total value of $339,160.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 123,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,980,923. This trade represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,248 shares of company stock worth $2,276,383. Corporate insiders own 5.80% of the company's stock.

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.