Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Stock: Insider Jonathan Shar Sells 30,000 Shares

Key Points

• CEO Jonathan Shar sold 30,000 BNED shares at an average price of $11.04, generating $331,200 and reducing his holdings by 8.44% to 325,285 shares.
• BNED shares traded at $11.13, with the stock ranging from $5.90 to $14.75 over the past year. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.37 per share, better than analyst expectations, but revenue of $290.6 million fell short of estimates.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $17.25. Institutional investors own 38.51% of the company, including recent purchases by Squarepoint Ops and Bank of New York Mellon.

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE:BNED - Get Free Report) CEO Jonathan Shar sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.04, for a total value of $331,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 325,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,591,146.40. The trade was a 8.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Barnes & Noble Education Price Performance

Barnes & Noble Education stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $11.13. 198,506 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 296,945. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.91. Barnes & Noble Education, Inc has a 52-week low of $5.90 and a 52-week high of $14.75. The company has a market cap of $385.84 million, a P/E ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 8th. The specialty retailer reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.48) by $0.11. Barnes & Noble Education had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 1.29%.The firm had revenue of $290.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.66 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Barnes & Noble Education, Inc will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BNED. Wall Street Zen cut Barnes & Noble Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Barnes & Noble Education from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Barnes & Noble Education to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $18.50 price target on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Institutional Trading of Barnes & Noble Education

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BNED. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the second quarter valued at $785,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the 2nd quarter worth about $510,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 119.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 355,943 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,143,000 after purchasing an additional 193,876 shares in the last quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Barnes & Noble Education by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,423,782 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $30,232,000 after purchasing an additional 23,800 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in Barnes & Noble Education in the first quarter valued at approximately $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 is an education services company that supports colleges, universities and their students across the United States. Through institutional partnerships, the company provides retail, digital and operational solutions designed to support the delivery of course materials and campus-related products and services.

Its Barnes & Noble College business operates physical and online campus bookstores, offering new and used textbooks, textbook rentals, digital course materials, general merchandise, school apparel, supplies, technology products and convenience items.

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