Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE:BNED) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE:BNED - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 711,300 shares, a decline of 33.5% from the December 15th total of 1,070,000 shares. Approximately 7.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 452,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Barnes & Noble Education from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barnes & Noble Education

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNED. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Barnes & Noble Education by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,463 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in Barnes & Noble Education in the third quarter valued at $169,000. DCF Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Barnes & Noble Education in the second quarter valued at $496,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 104.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,839 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,416,000 after buying an additional 77,932 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.51% of the company's stock.

Barnes & Noble Education Stock Performance

Shares of BNED traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.87. 449,371 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 716,223. Barnes & Noble Education has a twelve month low of $6.05 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $328.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.32 and a beta of 2.12. The business's 50-day moving average price is $10.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.28.

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.