Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE:BNED)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $13.43, but opened at $13.94. Barnes & Noble Education shares last traded at $14.5930, with a volume of 246,402 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BNED. Northland Securities assumed coverage on Barnes & Noble Education in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $17.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Barnes & Noble Education to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Barnes & Noble Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.50.

Barnes & Noble Education Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $469.17 million, a PE ratio of -42.78 and a beta of 1.32.

Barnes & Noble Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th.

Institutional Trading of Barnes & Noble Education

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Barnes & Noble Education by 261.1% during 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 period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 205.5% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 30,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 10.2% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 51,365 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 4,770 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 18,065 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 5,712 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.