Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Stock Rating Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Barnes & Noble Education to “strong buy” from “hold.” Overall analyst sentiment is “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $17.25.
• BNED shares opened at $13.42, near their 52-week high of $14.75, while the company’s latest quarterly loss of $0.37 per share was narrower than analysts expected; revenue of $290.6 million fell short of estimates.
• CEO Jonathan Shar and Chief Accounting Officer Gary Luster recently sold shares, while institutional investors own 38.51% of BNED stock.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on BNED. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Barnes & Noble Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $18.50 target price on Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Barnes & Noble Education Price Performance

NYSE:BNED opened at $13.42 on Monday. Barnes & Noble Education has a 52 week low of $5.90 and a 52 week high of $14.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $465.24 million, a PE ratio of 20.97 and a beta of 1.44. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $11.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.35.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The specialty retailer reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.48) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $290.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $306.66 million. Barnes & Noble Education had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 1.29%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Barnes & Noble Education will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Barnes & Noble Education news, CEO Jonathan Shar sold 30,000 shares of Barnes & Noble Education stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.04, for a total value of $331,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 325,285 shares in the company, valued at $3,591,146.40. The trade was a 8.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gary Luster sold 2,267 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $25,390.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 29,667 shares in the company, valued at $332,270.40. This trade represents a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Barnes & Noble Education

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNED. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the 2nd quarter worth $785,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the second quarter worth $510,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Barnes & Noble Education by 119.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 355,943 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,143,000 after buying an additional 193,876 shares during the last quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Barnes & Noble Education by 0.7% in the first quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,423,782 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $30,232,000 after buying an additional 23,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in Barnes & Noble Education in the first quarter valued at $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.51% of the company's stock.

Barnes & Noble Education Company Profile

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc NYSE: BNED provides retail and educational-support services to colleges and universities in the United States. Through its campus bookstores and digital platforms, the company supplies course materials, including new, used, rental and digital textbooks, as well as educational technology and related academic resources.

The company also sells general merchandise and campus essentials, such as school supplies, apparel, insignia merchandise, gifts and convenience products.

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