Sowell Financial Services LLC Acquires New Holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. $BBW

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 24,455 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 106.1% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 814 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,270 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBW has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Build-A-Bear Workshop from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. CJS Securities started coverage on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.75.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Price Performance

BBW opened at $59.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $768.03 million, a P/E ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $52.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.25. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.55 and a fifty-two week high of $75.85.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $122.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.28 million. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a net margin of 10.93% and a return on equity of 38.43%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 26th. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s payout ratio is presently 20.23%.

Insider Activity at Build-A-Bear Workshop

In other Build-A-Bear Workshop news, Director Craig Leavitt sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.61, for a total value of $242,440.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 64,142 shares in the company, valued at $3,887,646.62. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lesli Rotenberg sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.34, for a total value of $61,340.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $602,665.50. This represents a 9.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $363,760. Corporate insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Company Profile

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc operates a specialty retail business focused on interactive “workshop” experiences that allow customers to create customized stuffed animals. Through its in-store and online platforms, the company offers a wide range of plush toys, apparel, accessories and sound modules, enabling guests to personalize each creation. In addition to its core bear products, Build-A-Bear has expanded its portfolio to include licensed characters from leading entertainment and media franchises.

Founded in 1997 by Maxine Clark and headquartered in St.