Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Stock Breaks Below Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE:BNED)’s stock price passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.85 and traded as low as $11.40. Barnes & Noble Education shares last traded at $11.6250, with a volume of 338,266 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BNED. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Barnes & Noble Education to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Barnes & Noble Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Barnes & Noble Education from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Northland Securities set a $18.50 price objective on Barnes & Noble Education in a research note on Friday, June 26th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barnes & Noble Education currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Barnes & Noble Education Trading Up 4.7%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.13. The stock has a market cap of $433.58 million, a P/E ratio of 19.54 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

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

Barnes & Noble Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 14th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Barnes & Noble Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Barnes & Noble Education news, CAO Gary Luster sold 2,267 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $25,390.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 29,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $332,270.40. The trade was a 7.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jason Snagusky sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.64, for a total transaction of $63,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 71,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $907,071.68. This trade represents a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,267 shares of company stock valued at $419,790. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barnes & Noble Education

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BNED. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Barnes & Noble Education by 119.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 355,943 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,143,000 after buying an additional 193,876 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Barnes & Noble Education during the 2nd quarter worth about $785,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education in the 2nd quarter worth about $510,000. Kanen Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,423,782 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,232,000 after purchasing an additional 23,800 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education in the 1st quarter valued at about $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.51% of the company’s stock.

Barnes & Noble Education Company Profile

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE: BNED) provides retail and educational-support services to colleges and universities in the United States. Through its campus bookstores and digital platforms, the company supplies course materials, including new, used, rental and digital textbooks, as well as educational technology and related academic resources.

The company also sells general merchandise and campus essentials, such as school supplies, apparel, insignia merchandise, gifts and convenience products.