Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Trading 1.4% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE:BNED) shot up 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $9.46 and last traded at $8.97. 408,222 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 35% from the average session volume of 302,405 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Barnes & Noble Education Stock Down 2.1%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.94 million, a P/E ratio of -1.47 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 23rd. The specialty retailer reported ($2.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.81) by ($1.42). The firm had revenue of $278.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.61 million. Barnes & Noble Education had a negative net margin of 4.09% and a negative return on equity of 27.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barnes & Noble Education

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 1,412.1% in 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 last quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,090,043 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,445,000 after buying an additional 724,683 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 96.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 104,205 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after buying an additional 51,190 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 81.0% in the second quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 6,334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 2,834 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 60.8% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 14,417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 5,449 shares during the period. 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.