Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) Upgraded to Sell at BidaskClub

BidaskClub upgraded shares of Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank AG set a $8.00 price target on shares of Staples and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Staples from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. reissued a hold rating on shares of Staples in a report on Tuesday, June 20th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of Staples from $9.00 to $10.25 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, June 29th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a hold rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of Staples in a report on Friday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $9.18.

Shares of Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) traded up 0.049% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.185. 4,445,098 shares of the stock traded hands. The stock’s market cap is $6.65 billion. Staples has a 12 month low of $7.24 and a 12 month high of $10.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.76 and a 200 day moving average of $9.33.

Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 16th. The specialty retailer reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.17. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.50 billion. Staples had a negative net margin of 12.51% and a positive return on equity of 14.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Staples will post $0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 13th. Investors of record on Friday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 21st. Staples’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -13.30%.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPLS. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Staples by 3,241.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 47,899,430 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $420,078,000 after buying an additional 46,465,935 shares during the period. Oldfield Partners LLP bought a new position in Staples during the first quarter valued at about $124,653,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Staples by 48.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,070,240 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $132,163,000 after buying an additional 4,930,604 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Staples by 124.3% in the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 6,124,831 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $53,715,000 after buying an additional 3,393,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Staples by 4.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,277,605 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $572,485,000 after buying an additional 3,047,800 shares during the last quarter. 91.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Staples

Staples, Inc (Staples) is a provider of products and services that serve the needs of business customers and consumers. The Company offers a range of print and marketing and technology services. The Company’s segments include North American Delivery, North American Retail and Other. The North American Delivery segment consists of the United States and Canadian businesses, including Staples Business Advantage, staples.com, staples.ca, and quill.com, that sell and deliver products and services primarily to businesses.