Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Barnes & Noble Education to “Hold” from “Buy.” MarketBeat’s analyst consensus is also “Hold,” with an average price target of $17.25.
• BNED shares opened at $12.78, compared with a 52-week range of $5.90 to $14.75. The company recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.10, exceeding the $0.07 consensus estimate, while revenue of $267.1 million was slightly below expectations.
• Insiders have been net sellers: CFO Jason Snagusky sold 5,000 shares for $63,200, and insiders sold 10,513 shares worth $129,173 over the past three months. Institutional investors own 38.51% of the company.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

BNED has been the subject of several other research reports. Northland Securities set a $18.50 price target on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded Barnes & Noble Education to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Needham & Company LLC raised Barnes & Noble Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Barnes & Noble Education from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.25.

Barnes & Noble Education Price Performance

BNED opened at $12.78 on Friday. Barnes & Noble Education has a fifty-two week low of $5.90 and a fifty-two week high of $14.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.89 and a 200 day moving average of $10.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap of $442.66 million, a P/E ratio of 27.19 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jason Snagusky sold 5,000 shares of Barnes & Noble Education stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.64, for a total value of $63,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 71,762 shares in the company, valued at $907,071.68. This trade represents a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 10,513 shares of company stock worth $129,173 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Barnes & Noble Education by 261.1% in 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 lifted its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 205.5% during the fourth 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 1,412.1% in 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. bought a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education in the second quarter worth $96,000. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education in the first quarter worth $73,000. 38.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Barnes & Noble Education Company Profile

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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