Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) CEO Sells 30,000 Shares of Company Stock

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE:BNED) CEO Jonathan Shar sold 30,000 shares of Barnes & Noble Education stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.04, for a total transaction of $331,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 325,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,591,146.40. This trade represents a 8.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Barnes & Noble Education Price Performance

Shares of BNED traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $11.13. 198,506 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 296,945. The stock has a market cap of $385.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 1.27. Barnes & Noble Education, Inc has a 1-year low of $5.90 and a 1-year high of $14.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $12.03 and a 200-day moving average of $10.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 8th. The specialty retailer reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $290.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.66 million. Barnes & Noble Education had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 1.29%. Analysts expect that Barnes & Noble Education, Inc will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Barnes & Noble Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 557.7% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 9,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 7,897 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Barnes & Noble Education during the first quarter worth $73,000. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in Barnes & Noble Education during the first quarter worth $102,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the fourth quarter worth $144,000. Finally, Kanen Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 23,800 shares during the period. 38.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on BNED. Northland Securities set a $18.50 target price on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Barnes & Noble Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Barnes & Noble Education from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Barnes & Noble Education to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

About Barnes & Noble Education

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE: BNED) is an education services company that supports colleges, universities and their students across the United States. Through institutional partnerships, the company provides retail, digital and operational solutions designed to support the delivery of course materials and campus-related products and services.

Its Barnes & Noble College business operates physical and online campus bookstores, offering new and used textbooks, textbook rentals, digital course materials, general merchandise, school apparel, supplies, technology products and convenience items.