What Wall Street is saying about Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS)

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) stock is presently standing at about $7.50 and lots of equity research firms seem to have a target price set on the stock. The median one-year price target of 3 analysts covering the company is $9.00, which suggests the stock could still rise over 17 percent. The highest analyst price target is $15.00, which implies a rally of 0 percent. And a quick view of analyst notes show that 1 are rating the stock a buy while 0 rate BKS a strong buy. There are 3 equity research firms advocating a Hold and 0 consider it Sell.

Sidoti analysts provided their view on Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) recently. The rating firm issued a Neutral rating to this company in a research note released on Aug 18, 2016. Gabelli & Co analysts disclosed their opinion on Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) recently. The rating firm gave a Hold rating to this stock in a research note published on Aug 17, 2016. According to a research note disclosed on Aug 15, 2012, analysts at Stifel Nicolaus have lowered their rating on these shares from Buy to Hold.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) Transactions Roundup

Several insiders were part of recent insider activity for the stock. Its 10% Owner ABRAMS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, L.P Sold 5,918,775 company shares for 38,587,500, in a transaction on Apr 18. Following the transaction, the 10% Owner is left with a stake of 4,500,000 shares, currently valued at $33,750,000. Meanwhile, VP, Corp.Contr.(Pr. Acc. Off.) Herpich Peter M sold 21,931 shares worth $210,263, through a transaction dated Nov 23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider is left with a stake of 16,369 shares, amounting $122,768. BKS VP B&N Development DEASON DAVID S also sold 96,297 shares, at a stock price of $10.79. This transaction occurred on Oct 10 totals $103,774. After this transaction, the insider’s stake stands at 9,620 shares, with a market value of $72,150.

Executives hold 17.63 percent of the stock. ABRAMS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, L.P. is one of the biggest insider owners in Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. The insider owns 10,418,775 shares which have current market value of around $78,140,813.BLACKROCK INC. is another major inside shareholder in the company. The insider owns 7,116,349 shares as of 03/31/2017, currently worth $53,372,618. VANGUARD GROUP INC is ranked as third insider holder of the stock. This insider holds 6,348,364 shares with a market value around $47,612,730 as of recent close.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) Earnings Outlook

In Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS)’s latest quarter, EPS moved to $-0.05 from $0.96 in preceding quarter and revenues reached at $821.22M compared to $1,300.91M. Analysts had expected Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) to post net income of about $-0.23 per share on $790.42M in revenue. Looking ahead, analysts on average predict that earnings for the current quarter would come in the range of $1.12 to $1.13. That is compared with the $-0.2 in EPS it reported during the same period a year ago.

Elbert Edwards: