Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

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 Price Performance

BNED stock opened at $11.48 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $300.89 million, a P/E ratio of -0.15 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.23. Barnes & Noble Education has a 52-week low of $6.05 and a 52-week high of $226.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.96.

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

Insider Transactions at Barnes & Noble Education

In other Barnes & Noble Education news, Director William C. Martin acquired 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.98 per share, with a total value of $418,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 67,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,738.18. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director William C. Martin bought 38,000 shares of Barnes & Noble Education stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.19 per share, for a total transaction of $273,220.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 125,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $901,920.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William C. Martin bought 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 67,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,738.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 116,000 shares of company stock valued at $838,720 over the last ninety days. 5.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barnes & Noble Education

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education in the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. DCF Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Barnes & Noble Education during the second quarter worth $496,000. Finally, Greenhaven Road Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Barnes & Noble Education by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Road Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,256,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,832,000 after purchasing an additional 90,003 shares during the last quarter. 38.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Barnes & Noble Education

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.