Kennondale Capital Management LLC Makes New $2.02 Million Investment in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

Kennondale Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 43,892 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,021,000. Build-A-Bear Workshop makes up approximately 1.6% of Kennondale Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop during the 4th quarter valued at $240,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 77.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 180,045 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $8,289,000 after acquiring an additional 78,629 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,032 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,670 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Build-A-Bear Workshop

In other news, insider J. Christopher Hurt sold 12,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.53, for a total transaction of $499,461.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,386 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,228.58. This represents a 20.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Vojin Todorovic sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.08, for a total transaction of $200,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 70,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,455.60. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 161,666 shares of company stock worth $7,010,081 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Northland Securities upped their price objective on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Trading Down 3.5 %

BBW stock opened at $35.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.40. The stock has a market cap of $473.30 million, a PE ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 1.50. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.63 and a 1 year high of $48.23.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last released its 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. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a return on equity of 38.35% and a net margin of 10.58%. The firm had revenue of $150.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $147.53 million. On average, analysts forecast that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is an increase from Build-A-Bear Workshop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 27th. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.10%.

About Build-A-Bear Workshop

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.