Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Shares Pass Below Fifty Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• BNED shares fell below their 50-day moving average of $12.22, trading as low as $12.17 before last changing hands at $12.5990.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.25, with individual targets reaching $18.50.
• The company exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.10 versus a $0.07 consensus estimate, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, or a 2.5% yield.

Shares of Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE:BNED - Get Free Report) crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.22 and traded as low as $12.17. Barnes & Noble Education shares last traded at $12.5990, with a volume of 359,755 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BNED has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Barnes & Noble Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised Barnes & Noble Education to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. 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 upgraded 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. Finally, Northland Securities set a $18.50 target price on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Barnes & Noble Education Stock Up 1.5%

The stock has a market cap of $436.81 million, a PE ratio of 26.81 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $12.22 and a 200 day moving average of $10.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The specialty retailer reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.03. The company 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Barnes & Noble Education, Inc will post 0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barnes & Noble Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. Barnes & Noble Education's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jason Snagusky sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.64, for a total transaction of $63,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 71,762 shares in the company, valued at $907,071.68. The trade was 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 through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 10,513 shares of company stock worth $129,173 in the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Barnes & Noble Education

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 225.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,839 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,967 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 261.1% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,972 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,872 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 30,215 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 51,365 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 4,770 shares during the period. 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 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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