GSA Capital Partners LLP Boosts Position in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) by 32.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,437 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,680 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned about 0.17% of Build-A-Bear Workshop worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,229,006 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,057,000 after buying an additional 232,840 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,047,261 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,282,000 after acquiring an additional 6,913 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 0.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 640,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $16,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 17.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 320,832 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,107,000 after acquiring an additional 47,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 7.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 256,979 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,494,000 after purchasing an additional 17,772 shares during the period. 79.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sharon Price John sold 50,000 shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total value of $1,666,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 465,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,493,933.28. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director George Carrara sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.27, for a total transaction of $90,675.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,421 shares in the company, valued at $668,129.67. The trade was a 11.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 130,734 shares of company stock worth $4,510,217 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Trading Down 2.1 %

BBW stock opened at $36.28 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $35.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.13. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.24 and a 12-month high of $40.13. The company has a market capitalization of $490.43 million, a PE ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 1.54.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $111.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.90 million. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 37.81%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, September 11th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 23.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Northland Securities increased their price target on Build-A-Bear Workshop from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

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.