A Yield to Caution

Article Excerpt

BARNES & NOBLE INC. $5.65 (New York symbol BKS; Shares outstanding: 72.9 million; Market cap: $411.9 million; Dividend yield: 10.6%; www.barnesandnoble.com) is the world’s largest retail bookseller, and a leading seller of content, digital media and educational products. The company has 630 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and also operates major e-commerce site BN.com. Barnes & Noble pays a quarterly dividend of $0.15. That gives the shares a very high 10.6% yield. The company continues to report falling sales and weak profits. It has several problems to address. On July 3, 2018, Barnes & Noble fired its CEO, Demos Parneros, for what it later said was sexual harassment. He was the company’s fourth CEO in five years. Barnes & Noble is now looking for a new leader. Amazon continues to dominate the online bookselling world. As well, small independent stores have a share of local markets and their customers are loyal. This does not leave much room for Barnes & Noble to increase its market share…