Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.26 EPS

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

Barnes & Noble Education Stock Performance

Shares of BNED traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $11.42. 345,962 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 300,612. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.71 and its 200 day moving average is $9.61. Barnes & Noble Education has a 1-year low of $5.90 and a 1-year 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 Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jason Snagusky sold 2,210 shares of Barnes & Noble Education stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.50, for a total transaction of $27,625.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 78,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,487.50. The trade was 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. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barnes & Noble Education

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Windward Management LP acquired a new stake in Barnes & Noble Education in the 4th quarter valued at $15,623,000. Kanen Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Barnes & Noble Education by 30.6% in the first quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,090,043 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,445,000 after acquiring an additional 724,683 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Barnes & Noble Education by 323.8% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 516,521 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,079,000 after acquiring an additional 394,630 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Barnes & Noble Education by 190.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 508,899 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,677,000 after acquiring an additional 333,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 123.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 402,109 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,734,000 after acquiring an additional 221,936 shares during the period. 38.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BNED has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research note on Friday, April 10th. 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 report on Friday, June 26th. Northland Securities set a $18.50 price objective on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Barnes & Noble Education to a “hold” rating in a research 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.