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

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

Barnes & Noble Education Stock Down 2.0%

BNED stock traded down $0.23 on Thursday, hitting $11.42. 345,943 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 300,271. Barnes & Noble Education has a 12-month low of $5.90 and a 12-month high of $14.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.61. 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 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.8%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Barnes & Noble Education news, CFO Jason Snagusky sold 2,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.50, for a total value of $27,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 78,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,487.50. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barnes & Noble Education

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 64,070 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 8,418 shares during the last quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Barnes & Noble Education by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Kanen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,399,982 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,811,000 after purchasing an additional 312,054 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Barnes & Noble Education during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Windward Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education in the fourth quarter worth $15,623,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 261.1% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,972 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 2,872 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Barnes & Noble Education to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Northland Securities set a $18.50 price target on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Barnes & Noble Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Two 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.