Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) CAO Gary Luster Sells 1,066 Shares of Stock

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE:BNED) CAO Gary Luster sold 1,066 shares of Barnes & Noble Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.61, for a total transaction of $12,376.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 31,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $370,753.74. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Barnes & Noble Education Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:BNED traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $12.26. The stock had a trading volume of 241,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,999. Barnes & Noble Education, Inc has a 1 year low of $5.90 and a 1 year high of $14.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $10.86 and its 200-day moving average is $9.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $424.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09 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. The business had revenue of $267.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.55 million. Barnes & Noble Education had a net margin of 0.98% and a return on equity of 7.92%. Research analysts predict that Barnes & Noble Education, Inc will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barnes & Noble Education Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BNED. Zacks Research raised Barnes & Noble Education to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research note 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 for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Northland Securities set a $18.50 price objective on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Barnes & Noble Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Windward Management LP acquired a new position in Barnes & Noble Education during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,623,000. Kanen Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 30.6% during the first quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,090,043 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,445,000 after acquiring an additional 724,683 shares during the last quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 186.5% during the fourth quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 881,799 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,104,000 after acquiring an additional 573,992 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 323.8% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 516,521 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,079,000 after acquiring an additional 394,630 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 190.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 508,899 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,677,000 after acquiring an additional 333,567 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.51% of the company’s stock.

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.