Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, book retailer Barnes & Noble (BKS) has received the dreaded one-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Barnes & Noble and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Barnes & Noble facts
Headquarters (founded) |
New York (1986) |
Market Cap |
$778.9 million |
Industry |
Specialty stores |
Trailing-12-Month Revenue |
$7.2 billion |
Management |
Founder/Chairman Leonard Riggio |
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) |
(4.8%) |
Cash/Debt |
$471.0 million / $465.7 million |
Competitors |
Amazon.com |
On CAPS, 53% of the 667 members who have rated Barnes & Noble believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward.
Just yesterday, one of those Fools, All-Star MrOneHundred, succinctly summed up the Barnes & Noble bear case for our community:
The [Nook] has lost any competitive advantage to a swath of competitors (chiefly the iPad and Amazon). ... Even in the college environment, retailers are shifting to online classrooms which will gravely hurt Barnes & Noble. Someone close to me used to work at one of their locations and would always have a story to tell concerning how the administration was bad [too]. Another reason I would avoid this stock. Some other (more quantitative figures) that are important:
ROA: -1.00 (Industry 5.80)
ROE: -4.10 (Industry 10.20) ...
Thumbs and Big Toes Down!
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