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

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE:BNED)’s share price crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.22 and traded as low as $12.17. Barnes & Noble Education shares last traded at $12.5990, with a volume of 359,755 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Barnes & Noble Education Trading Down 2.1%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.46. 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 company has a market capitalization of $424.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.03. Barnes & Noble Education had a net margin of 0.98% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $267.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.55 million. On average, research analysts expect that Barnes & Noble Education, Inc will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barnes & Noble Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Barnes & Noble Education’s payout ratio is presently 68.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barnes & Noble Education

In other news, CFO Jason Snagusky sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.64, for a total value of $63,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 71,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $907,071.68. This represents a 6.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,513 shares of company stock valued at $129,173. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barnes & Noble Education

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNED. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Barnes & Noble Education by 225.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,839 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,967 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 261.1% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,972 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 2,872 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 205.5% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,910 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 30,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 3,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 51,365 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 4,770 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.51% of the company’s stock.

About Barnes & Noble Education

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.