Best Railroad Stocks To Watch Right Now

Best Railroad Stocks To Watch Right Now: Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS)

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (Barnes & Noble), incorporated on November 19, 1986, is a bookseller. The Company is a content, commerce and technology company that provides customers access to books, magazines, newspapers and other content across its multi-channel distribution platform. As of April 27, 2013, it operated 1,361 bookstores in 50 states, 686 bookstores on college campuses, and operates one of the Web eCommerce sites, and develops digital content products and software. Barnes & Noble operates in three segments: B&N Retail, B&N College and NOOK. The Companys principal business is the sale of trade books (generally hardcover and paperback consumer titles), mass market paperbacks (such as mystery, romance, science fiction and other popular fiction), childrens books, eBooks and other digital content, NOOK and related accessories, bargain books, magazines, gifts, cafe products and services, educational toys & games, music and movies direct to customers through its books tores or on barnesandnoble.com.

Of the Companys 1,361 bookstores, 675 operate primarily under the Barnes & Noble Booksellers trade name. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC (B&N College), a wholly owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, operates 686 college bookstores at colleges and universities across the United States. Barnes & Noble Retail (B&N Retail) operates the 675 retail bookstores. Retail also includes the Companys eCommerce site and Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. (Sterling or Sterling Publishing), a leader in general trade book publishing.

B&N Retail

This segment includes 675 bookstores as of April 27, 2013, primarily under the Barnes & Noble Booksellers trade name. These stores generally offer a dedicated NOOK area, a comprehensive trade book title base, a cafe, and departments dedicated to Juvenile, Toys & Games, DVDs, Music, Gift, Magazine and Bargain products. The stores also offer a calendar of ongoing events! , incl uding author appearances and childrens activities. The B&! N Retail segment also includes the Companys eCommerce website, barnesandnoble.com, and its publishing operation, Sterling Publishing. Barnes & Noble stores range in size from 3,000 to 60,000 square feet depending upon market size, with an overall average store size of 26,000 square feet. During the fiscal year ended April 27, 2013 (fiscal), the Company reduced the Barnes & Noble store base by 0.3 million square feet, bringing the total square footage to 17.7 million square feet. The Companys B&N Retail segment purchases physical books on a regular basis from over 800 publishers and over 50 wholesalers or distributors. As of April 27, 2013, Barnes & Noble had stores in 162 of the total 210 Designated Market Area markets.

Sterling Publishing is a publisher of non-fiction trade titles. It is a range of non-fiction and illustrated books and kits across a range of imprints, in categories, such as health and wellness, music and culture, food and wine, crafts and photo graphy, puzzles and games, history and current affairs, as well as a childrens books.

B&N College

B&N College sells new and used textbooks in campus bookstores and online. As of April 27, 2013, B&N College operated 686 stores nationwide. The Companys customer base, which is mainly consisted of students and faculty, can purchase various items from their campus stores, including textbooks and course-related materials, emblematic apparel and gifts, trade books, computer products, NOOK products and related accessories, school and dorm supplies, convenience and cafe items.

As of April 27, 2013, B&N College operates 651 traditional college bookstores and 35 academic superstores, which are generally larger in size, offer cafes and provide a sense of community that engages the surrounding campus and local communities in college activities and culture. The traditional bookstores range in size from 500 to 48,000 square feet. The academic su ! perstores! range in size from 8,000 to 75,000 square feet. B&! N College! s three customer constituencies are students, faculty members and campus administrators.

NOOK

This segment includes the Companys digital business, which includes the Companys eBookstore, digital newsstand and sales of NOOK devices and accessories to third party distribution partners, as well as to B&N Retail and B&N College. Barnes & Nobles NOOK digital bookstore and Reading Apps provide customers the ability to purchase and read their digital content and access to their Lifetime Library on a range of digital platforms, including Windows 8 PCs and tablets, iPad, iPhone , Android smartphones and tablets, PC and Mac. Barnes & Noble has implemented features on its digital platform to ensure that customers can access their NOOK content from almost all of todays most popular devices.

The Company competes with Target, Books-A-Million, Waldenbooks, Amazon.com, Apple, Wal-Mart and Costco.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  I dont think this was on Barnes & Nobles (BKS) Christmas list. The SEC is investigating the book sellers accounting, including its recent decision to restate earnings for the 2011 and 2012 fiscal years, according to regulatory filings. The Wall Street Journal has the story.

  Barnes & Noble said it was notified by the SEC on Oct. 16 that the commission had started an investigation into the company’s restatement of earnings, announced on July 29. On that day, Barnes & Noble said in a filing that it had restated its previous financial statements for the years ending April 28, 2012, and April 30, 2011, “in order to correct previously reported amounts.”

  The company said it had “incorrectly overstated certain accruals for the periods prior to April 27, 2013,” related to its distribution center.

  Additionally, in a filing on Thursday, the company said that after a review of deferred tax assets and l! iabilitie! s, it had “concluded” that a deferred tax liability should be reversed.

  The bookseller said it is cooperating with the SEC investigation. A Barnes & Noble spokeswoman declined further comment. A spokesman for the SEC also declined to comment.

  The news pounded a stock on what is otherwise a big day for equity markets. At $15.15, Barnes & Noble fell 7.6%.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/best-railroad-stocks-to-watch-right-now.html