Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Stock Bumped Up to Strong-Buy by Zacks Research

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Barnes & Noble Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Northland Securities set a $18.50 target price on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Barnes & Noble Education Price Performance

BNED stock opened at $13.42 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $11.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $465.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97 and a beta of 1.44. Barnes & Noble Education has a fifty-two week low of $5.90 and a fifty-two week high of $14.75.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The specialty retailer reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by $0.11. Barnes & Noble Education had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The company had revenue of $290.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.66 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Barnes & Noble Education will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Barnes & Noble Education

In related news, CEO Jonathan Shar sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.04, for a total value of $331,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,591,146.40. This represents a 8.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gary Luster sold 2,267 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $25,390.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 29,667 shares in the company, valued at $332,270.40. This represents a 7.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barnes & Noble Education

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 119.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 355,943 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,143,000 after acquiring an additional 193,876 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the second quarter worth approximately $785,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the second quarter worth approximately $510,000. Kanen Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 0.7% during the first quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,423,782 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,232,000 after acquiring an additional 23,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the first quarter worth approximately $102,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.51% of the company’s stock.

About Barnes & Noble Education

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE: BNED) provides retail and educational-support services to colleges and universities in the United States. Through its campus bookstores and digital platforms, the company supplies course materials, including new, used, rental and digital textbooks, as well as educational technology and related academic resources.

The company also sells general merchandise and campus essentials, such as school supplies, apparel, insignia merchandise, gifts and convenience products.