Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Key Points

• Barnes & Noble Education was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from buy to hold, adding to a mixed analyst picture that currently averages to a Hold rating with a $17.25 consensus price target.
• The company’s most recent quarterly results were better than expected on earnings, with EPS of $0.10 versus estimates of $0.07, though revenue of $267.1 million came in slightly below forecasts.
• Shares opened at $12.59 and the stock was down 0.1% on the day; insider activity also showed CFO Jason Snagusky sold 2,237 shares in a recent transaction.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on BNED. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Barnes & Noble Education to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Northland Securities set a $18.50 target price on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Barnes & Noble Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Barnes & Noble Education Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of BNED stock opened at $12.59 on Monday. Barnes & Noble Education has a one year low of $5.90 and a one year high of $14.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $436.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79 and a beta of 1.29. The company's fifty day moving average price is $11.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.77.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The specialty retailer reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $267.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $267.55 million. Barnes & Noble Education had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 0.98%. Sell-side analysts expect that Barnes & Noble Education will post 0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Barnes & Noble Education news, CFO Jason Snagusky sold 2,237 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.61, for a total transaction of $25,971.57. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 76,762 shares of the company's stock, valued at $891,206.82. The trade was a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,513 shares of company stock worth $65,973. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BNED. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Barnes & Noble Education by 261.1% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,972 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 2,872 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Barnes & Noble Education by 205.5% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,326 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 1,412.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,139 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 5,733 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the second quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the first quarter valued at approximately $73,000. 38.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Barnes & Noble Education

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc NYSE: BNED is a leading provider of educational products and services to the higher education community. The company operates retail campus bookstores under Barnes & Noble College, offering course materials, general merchandise, and digital content. In addition, Barnes & Noble Education delivers educational technology solutions through its digital learning platform and supplemental courseware.

Originally part of Barnes & Noble, Inc, the company completed its spin-off and initial public offering in February 2015 to focus exclusively on college retail and digital learning.

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