Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Barnes & Noble Education was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from hold to buy, adding to a mix of recent analyst opinions that currently leaves the stock with an overall Hold average rating.
• The stock rose 12% to $12.79, helped by stronger trading activity and the company’s recent earnings beat, as it reported $0.10 EPS versus the $0.07 consensus estimate.
• Insider and institutional activity was also notable: CFO Jason Snagusky sold shares, while several institutional investors increased or initiated positions, and institutions now own 38.51% of the stock.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Barnes & Noble Education to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research note on Wednesday. Northland Securities set a $18.50 target price on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Barnes & Noble Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.25.

Barnes & Noble Education Stock Up 12.0%

Shares of NYSE BNED traded up $1.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.79. The company had a trading volume of 821,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,987. The stock's 50 day moving average is $10.80 and its 200-day moving average is $9.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.42. Barnes & Noble Education has a twelve month low of $5.90 and a twelve month high of $14.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $438.82 million, a PE ratio of 27.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The specialty retailer reported $0.10 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 8.05%. The firm had revenue of $267.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.55 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Barnes & Noble Education will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jason Snagusky sold 2,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.50, for a total transaction of $27,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 78,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $987,487.50. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Barnes & Noble Education

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 261.1% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,972 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,872 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 205.5% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,326 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 5,733 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Barnes & Noble Education during the 1st quarter valued at about $73,000. 38.51% of the stock is currently 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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