The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases New Position in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,492 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 494.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,689 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,793 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop in the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop in the fourth quarter worth approximately $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. DA Davidson raised shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:BBW opened at $42.33 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $558.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.54. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.63 and a 52 week high of $48.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.01 and a 200 day moving average of $39.31.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $150.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.53 million. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a return on equity of 38.35% and a net margin of 10.58%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 27th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 27th. This is an increase from Build-A-Bear Workshop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.10%.

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.