StockNews.com Downgrades Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) to Sell

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research note on Friday, May 24th.

Barnes & Noble Education Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of BNED opened at $11.50 on Thursday. Barnes & Noble Education has a twelve month low of $6.05 and a twelve month high of $226.00. The stock has a market cap of $301.42 million, a PE ratio of -0.15 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $10.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.28.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 1st. The specialty retailer reported ($7.11) earnings per share for the quarter. Barnes & Noble Education had a negative return on equity of 27.68% and a negative net margin of 7.17%. The firm had revenue of $235.92 million for the quarter.

Insider Activity at Barnes & Noble Education

In related news, Director William C. Martin purchased 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.98 per share, with a total value of $418,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 67,441 shares in the company, valued at $470,738.18. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Eric Singer acquired 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.15 per share, with a total value of $146,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 112,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $916,394.15. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William C. Martin bought 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.98 per share, with a total value of $418,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 67,441 shares in the company, valued at $470,738.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 116,000 shares of company stock valued at $838,720 over the last three months. 5.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Barnes & Noble Education

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DCF Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Barnes & Noble Education in the second quarter valued at approximately $496,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Barnes & Noble Education during the 1st quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Greenhaven Road Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Barnes & Noble Education by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Road Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,256,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,832,000 after buying an additional 90,003 shares during the last quarter. 38.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Barnes & Noble Education Company Profile

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc operates bookstores for college and university campuses, and K-12 institutions in the United States. It operates through Retail and Wholesale segments. The company sells and rents new and used print textbooks, digital textbooks, and publisher hosted digital courseware through physical and virtual bookstores, as well as directly to students through Textbooks.com.