Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Shares Cross Above 50 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE:BNED) passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.10 and traded as high as $12.12. Barnes & Noble Education shares last traded at $11.86, with a volume of 169,586 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BNED has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Barnes & Noble Education from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Barnes & Noble Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Northland Securities set a $18.50 price target on Barnes & Noble Education in a research 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 objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Barnes & Noble Education to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Two research 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.25.

Barnes & Noble Education Stock Performance

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’s fifty day moving average price is $12.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.33. The company has a market capitalization of $414.90 million, a P/E ratio of 25.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The specialty retailer reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 0.98%. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Barnes & Noble Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.09%.

Insider Activity at Barnes & Noble Education

In other news, CFO Jason Snagusky sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.64, for a total value of $63,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 71,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $907,071.68. This represents a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 10,513 shares of company stock valued at $129,173 in the last 90 days. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BNED. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,872 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 1,412.1% during 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 during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the first quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in Barnes & Noble Education during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $96,000. 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.