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BNEDBNEDConsumer Cyclical · Specialty Retail

BNED Stock Forecast: Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. Price Predictions for 2026-2027

Last close, 24 Aug 2026
$12
+2.90% on the day

The 2 Wall Street analysts covering Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. hold a median 12-month price target of $17 — +39.0% from the last close. Ticker Nerd's systematic factor model, run across ~4,600 US stocks, ranks it 72 of 100 as at 22 Aug 2026 — in the upper half. Here, the model and the Street point the same way.

Market cap
$418.1M
Ticker Nerd rank
72 / 100
Median analyst target
$17
Analysts covering
2
Revenue$267.1M−4.0% y/y
Operating income$11.1M
Net income$3.5M
Free cash flow$76.4M
Quarterly, 8 quarters to 30 Apr 2026 · latest quarter's figure shown
Total return, dividends reinvested
1W
+4.5%
1M
+4.5%
YTD
+35.9%
1Y
+44.0%
From 52W high
−9.1%
From 52W low
+104.1%
$6
$14
52-week range, adjusted closes · the dot is the last close
Ticker Nerd rank

BNED stock analysis: one number for the whole business

Consensus tells you what everyone already believes. The model scores Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. on its factor families — the same systematic rank behind the Ticker Nerd portfolio.

Where the model ranks itAs at 22 Aug 2026
72 / 100

Percentile across ~4,600 US stocks on Ticker Nerd’s systematic factor model. Higher is better. How the model is built and tested

Accruals
79
Growth
77
Issuance
71
Momentum
70
Value
62
Size
56
Quality
55
Revisions
38
Volatility
25

Accruals (79): Reported profit is backed by cash, and the company is not expanding recklessly.

Volatility (25): The share price moves around a lot.

Built and run by Aslam Ghouse, an ex-Goldman Sachs quant trader with fourteen years in markets.

Wall Street

BNED stock forecast 2026-2027: analyst price targets & predictions

The bullish and bearish analyst opinions on BNED, reported as data — targets and ratings, the market's view beside the model's.

Share price and the analyst range, 12 monthsAdjusted close, US dollars
$6$8$10$12$14$16$18$20Oct 25Jan 26Apr 26Jul 26BNEDHigh $19Median $17Low $16

Price targets and ratings are third-party analyst estimates, reported here as data. They are not Ticker Nerd forecasts, and they are frequently wrong.

Data provided by Twelve Data

What Wall Street says2 analysts
2 Buy0 Hold0 Sell
Low $16Median $17High $19

The green dot is the last close — the median target sits +39.0% from it.

Recent analyst actionsNewest first
DateFirmActionRatingTarget
26 June 2026NeedhamUpgradeBuy$16
10 June 2026Northland Capital MarketsInitiatesOutperform—
24 May 2024NeedhamReiteratesHold—
17 Apr 2024NeedhamReiteratesHold—
12 Jan 2024NeedhamDowngradeHold—
11 Jan 2024Craig-HallumDowngradeHold—
7 Dec 2023NeedhamReiteratesBuy—
4 Aug 2023NeedhamReiteratesBuy—
1 June 2023NeedhamReiteratesBuy—
10 Mar 2023NeedhamReiteratesBuy—
9 Mar 2022NeedhamMaintainsBuy—
27 Oct 2021NeedhamMaintainsBuy—
10 Mar 2021NeedhamMaintainsBuy—
4 Sept 2020Craig-HallumUpgradeBuy—
31 Mar 2020Craig-HallumDowngradeHold—
16 Mar 2020Craig-HallumDowngradeHold—
17 Sept 2019Sidoti & Co.DowngradeNeutral—
8 Apr 2019NeedhamInitiatesBuy—
9 May 2016Sidoti & Co.InitiatesNeutral—
7 Oct 2015Cantor FitzgeraldInitiatesHold—

Price targets and ratings are third-party analyst estimates, reported here as data. They are not Ticker Nerd forecasts, and they are frequently wrong.

Market Radar

This page is one stock. Monday covers all of them.

Computed off the Friday close and sent before the US open.

Market Radar reports the week’s largest rank changes across roughly 4,600 US stocks, the factor behind each one, and where the market went. BNED appears on the weeks it earns a place.

Free, every Monday. Unsubscribe any time.

Performance

BNED vs the S&P 500

Both lines are total return — dividends reinvested — so the comparison is honest on both sides.

Over the twelve months to 24 Aug 2026, Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. returned +44.0% against +19.6% for the S&P 500, dividends included.

BNED vs S&P 500, last 12 monthsTotal return, rebased to 100
80100120140160Oct 25Jan 26Apr 26Jul 26BNEDS&P 500

Download this chart as an image — free to reuse; link this page as the source.

Data provided by Twelve Data

Estimates

BNED analyst estimate revisions

Not the forecast itself — the direction analysts are revising it. Revision direction is one of the model's factor families.

Which way the estimates are movingNext fiscal year
Analysts raising
0
Analysts cutting
0
Fundamentals

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (BNED) financial data

A margin means little on its own. Each bar marks where the figure sits across the whole US universe we score.

Valuation
Trailing P/E
24.6×

Cheaper than 32% of US stocks

Price / sales
0.2×

Cheaper than 91% of US stocks

Price / book
1.4×

Cheaper than 59% of US stocks

EV / EBITDA
9.1×

Cheaper than 42% of US stocks

Growth & margins
Revenue growth (YoY)
−5.2%

Higher than 20% of US stocks

Earnings growth (YoY)
−4.0%

Higher than 31% of US stocks

Gross margin
31.8%

Higher than 37% of US stocks

Operating margin
1.4%

Higher than 48% of US stocks

Net margin
1.0%

Higher than 49% of US stocks

Returns & dividend
Return on equity
6.0%

Higher than 55% of US stocks

Return on assets
3.0%

Higher than 65% of US stocks

Dividend yield
2.7%

Higher than 58% of US dividend payers

Bars mark the percentile across the ~4,600 US stocks Ticker Nerd covers, among those reporting the figure.

Key statistics

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (BNED) statistics: revenue, profit & scale

The headline figures, each with its date. Every row carries its own link — cite it straight from here.

  • Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. has a market value of $418.1M and an enterprise value of $632.9M.

  • Revenue in the twelve months to 30 Apr 2026: $1.7B. The latest quarter shrank 5.2% year on year.

  • Net income over the same four quarters: $16.9M, a 1.0% net margin.

  • Free cash flow in the twelve months to 30 Apr 2026: $33.9M, after $16.2M of capital spending.

  • Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. spent $0.0 on share buybacks in the twelve months to 30 Apr 2026.

  • Shares outstanding: 34.4M.

  • Trailing P/E: 24.6×; forward P/E: 11.9× — the forward figure prices analyst consensus estimates, not reported earnings.

  • Forward dividend yield: 2.65%, paying out 0% of earnings.

  • Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. employs 2,520 people — $680K of revenue per employee.

Statement figures: company filings via Twelve Data, four quarters to 30 Apr 2026 · market figures as at 25 Aug 2026

Data provided by Twelve Data

Peers

BNED vs competitors

The nearest names by industry and size, scored by the same model — like for like.

Its peer group, ranked by the same modelSpecialty Retail
CompanyMarket capTKN rank
BNEDBarnes & Noble Education, Inc.$418.1M
72
EVGOEVgo, Inc.$473.9M
12
BBWBuild-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.$487.6M
50
ARKOARKO Corp.$529.3M
84
BWMXBetterware de Mexico SAPI de CV$598.9M
89
FLWS1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.$254.5M
60
WOOFPetco Health & Wellness Company, Inc.$798.7M
73

Look up any of the roughly 4,600 stocks we score.

The rank is the raw material. Whether the rules would actually own Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. — and when they’d sell — is the membership. See the Ticker Nerd 20 →

News

Latest BNED news & analysis

Are Investors Undervaluing Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) Right Now?

Zacks Investment Research · 18 Aug 2026neutral

Zacks Investment Research published an article asking whether investors are currently undervaluing Barnes & Noble Education (BNED). The piece discusses the Zacks Rank system, which focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while also considering value, growth, and momentum trends to identify strong stock picks.

Why it matters — BNED watchers would care because the article evaluates whether the stock's current valuation may be too low, which could signal an opportunity for investors to reassess the company.

Barnes & Noble College First Day Complete® Expands to 263 Campuses Representing More Than 1.43 Million Students

GlobeNewsWire · 18 Aug 2026positive

Barnes & Noble College has expanded its First Day Complete program to 263 campuses, serving more than 1.43 million students. The expansion reflects growing adoption of and demand for affordable course materials.

Why it matters — A BNED watcher would care because the program's expansion signals broader adoption of the company's course-materials offering across its campus network.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about BNED stock

What is the BNED stock price forecast for 2026-2027?

The 2 Wall Street analysts covering Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. have a median 12-month price target of $17, with estimates ranging from $16 to $19. These are third-party analyst estimates, not Ticker Nerd forecasts, and they are frequently wrong.

Is BNED stock a buy right now?

Of the 2 analysts covering Barnes & Noble Education, Inc., 2 rate it a Buy, 0 a Hold and 0 a Sell. Ticker Nerd's systematic factor model ranks Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. 72 out of 100 across roughly 4,600 US stocks as at 22 Aug 2026. None of this is personal advice — it does not consider your circumstances.

How does Ticker Nerd's model rank BNED?

As at 22 Aug 2026, Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. ranks 72 out of 100 on Ticker Nerd's systematic factor model — a percentile across roughly 4,600 US stocks, built from its factor families. Its strongest factor family is Accruals (79 of 100).

Will BNED stock go up?

No one can know that. What the data says: the median 12-month target from 2 analysts implies +39.0% from the last close, and Ticker Nerd's factor model ranks Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. 72 out of 100 as at 22 Aug 2026. Analyst targets are third-party estimates and frequently wrong; none of this is personal advice.

What is the BNED stock forecast for 2030?

No analyst covering Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. publishes a 2030 price target — Wall Street targets run 12 to 18 months out. Sites quoting a 2030 price for BNED are extrapolating price history, which says nothing about the business. The furthest attributed numbers are the current analyst targets: $16 to $19 over the next 12 months.

How has BNED stock performed over the past year?

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. returned +44.0% over the 12 months to 24 Aug 2026, with dividends reinvested. Past performance does not indicate future returns.

What does Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. do?

Barnes & Noble Education Inc. is a leading educational services company in the United States, primarily engaged in providing a comprehensive suite of products and services to the higher education industry.

What is the latest news on BNED?

The most recent item we track (Zacks Investment Research, 18 Aug 2026): "Are Investors Undervaluing Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) Right Now?". Zacks Investment Research published an article asking whether investors are currently undervaluing Barnes & Noble Education (BNED). The piece discusses the Zacks Rank system, which focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while also considering value, growth, and momentum trends to identify strong stock picks.

Company

About Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.

Barnes & Noble Education Inc. is a leading educational services company in the United States, primarily engaged in providing a comprehensive suite of products and services to the higher education industry. Its principal function is to operate college bookstores, supplying new and used textbooks, course materials, digital content, and educational supplies. The company plays a significant role in the educational sector, supporting the academic needs of students and faculty through physical and virtual bookstore solutions, thereby enhancing the learning experience through technology-enabled student services. Additionally, Barnes & Noble Education Inc. impacts the retail and digital education sectors by offering brands like LoudCloud, a suite of digital learning services. The company’s operations facilitate the distribution and effectiveness of educational resources, playing an instrumental role in the evolving landscape of learning modalities. Established from the substantial legacy of Barnes & Noble, the education-focused entity is dedicated to meeting the changing demands of educational institutions and learners in a digital and dynamic world.

CEO Mr. Michael P. Huseby · 2,520 employees · United States · https://www.bned.com