Barnes & Noble Education, Inc $BNED Stake Boosted by Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C.

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE:BNED) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 951,799 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares during the quarter. Barnes & Noble Education makes up approximately 1.0% of Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. owned about 2.75% of Barnes & Noble Education worth $11,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the first quarter valued at about $73,000. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in Barnes & Noble Education during the first quarter worth about $102,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Barnes & Noble Education in the 2nd quarter worth about $510,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Barnes & Noble Education by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 61,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 5,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Barnes & Noble Education in the 2nd quarter valued at about $785,000. Institutional investors own 38.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Barnes & Noble Education

In other Barnes & Noble Education news, CAO Gary Luster sold 2,267 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $25,390.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 29,667 shares in the company, valued at $332,270.40. The trade was a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jonathan Shar sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.04, for a total value of $331,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 325,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,591,146.40. The trade was a 8.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BNED shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Zacks Research raised Barnes & Noble Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Barnes & Noble Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Barnes & Noble Education currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Barnes & Noble Education Stock Down 1.6%

BNED opened at $12.52 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $434.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 1.44. Barnes & Noble Education, Inc has a twelve month low of $5.90 and a twelve month high of $14.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $12.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.75.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The specialty retailer reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by $0.11. Barnes & Noble Education had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The firm had revenue of $290.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.66 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Barnes & Noble Education, Inc will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Barnes & Noble Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 14th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Barnes & Noble Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Barnes & Noble Education Company Profile

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE: BNED) is an education solutions company that supports colleges and universities, their students, faculty and campus communities. The company operates and manages college bookstores and provides higher-education institutions with products and services designed to support academic success and campus life.

BNED’s offerings include new, used, rental and digital course materials; textbook and course-material fulfillment; general merchandise; school supplies; technology products; and custom or institution-branded apparel and gifts.