Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Barnes & Noble Education to “buy” from “hold.” However, the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with a consensus price target of $17.25.
• BNED shares opened at $12.87, up 8.3%, and were trading above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.10 exceeded estimates of $0.07, while revenue of $267.1 million was slightly below expectations.
• Institutional investors own 38.51% of the company and several hedge funds increased their positions, while insiders have sold 5,513 shares over the past 90 days.

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Northland Securities set a $18.50 target price on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Barnes & Noble Education to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Barnes & Noble Education from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Barnes & Noble Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.25.

Barnes & Noble Education Stock Up 8.3%

NYSE BNED opened at $12.87 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.91. 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 quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $445.64 million, a P/E ratio of 27.37 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jason Snagusky sold 2,237 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.61, for a total transaction of $25,971.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 76,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $891,206.82. This trade represents a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 5,513 shares of company stock valued at $65,973 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barnes & Noble Education

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Barnes & Noble Education by 1,412.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,139 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 5,733 shares during the period. Kanen Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Barnes & Noble Education by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,090,043 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $32,445,000 after buying an additional 724,683 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 96.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 104,205 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 51,190 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 123.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 402,109 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,734,000 after acquiring an additional 221,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the second quarter worth $344,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.51% of the company's stock.

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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