Insider Selling: Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) CAO Sells $12,376.26 in Stock

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE:BNED) CAO Gary Luster sold 1,066 shares of Barnes & Noble Education stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.61, for a total value of $12,376.26. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 31,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,753.74. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Barnes & Noble Education Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of BNED opened at $12.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Barnes & Noble Education, Inc has a 12-month low of $5.90 and a 12-month high of $14.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $431.23 million, a P/E ratio of 26.49 and a beta of 1.29.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $267.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.55 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Barnes & Noble Education, Inc will post 0.71 EPS for the current year.

Barnes & Noble Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barnes & Noble Education

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings 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 worth $3,143,000 after acquiring an additional 193,876 shares during the last quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC increased 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 valued at $30,232,000 after purchasing an additional 23,800 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in Barnes & Noble Education in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Barnes & Noble Education in the first quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Barnes & Noble Education by 557.7% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 9,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 7,897 shares during the period. 38.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BNED. Zacks Research upgraded Barnes & Noble Education to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised Barnes & Noble Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Barnes & Noble Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $18.50 price target on Barnes & Noble Education in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.25.

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.