Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.26, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $267.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.50 million. Barnes & Noble Education had a negative return on equity of 20.37% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.

Barnes & Noble Education Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of BNED traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.42. 345,943 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 300,271. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $10.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.61. Barnes & Noble Education has a 12 month low of $5.90 and a 12 month high of $14.75. The stock has a market cap of $391.71 million, a P/E ratio of -35.69 and a beta of 1.29.

Barnes & Noble Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%.

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 directly owned 78,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,487.50. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Barnes & Noble Education by 261.1% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,972 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,872 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake 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 worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 5,733 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in Barnes & Noble Education during the 2nd quarter worth $96,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new position in Barnes & Noble Education during the 2nd quarter worth $100,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a report on Friday, April 10th. Northland Securities set a $18.50 price target on Barnes & Noble Education in a report on Friday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Barnes & Noble Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Barnes & Noble Education to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.25.

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.