Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Trading Up 4.9% – Should You Buy?

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) shares were up 4.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $29.03 and last traded at $28.94. Approximately 140,968 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 327,440 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCHL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Scholastic in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Scholastic in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $37.00.

Scholastic Stock Up 5.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.73. The firm has a market cap of $728.56 million, a P/E ratio of -144.90 and a beta of 1.18.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $551.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $556.72 million. Scholastic had a negative net margin of 0.21% and a positive return on equity of 2.67%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Scholastic Corporation will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -400.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Scholastic in the third quarter worth $7,288,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Scholastic by 879.3% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,159,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,880 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in Scholastic by 33.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $875,000 after acquiring an additional 8,037 shares during the last quarter. Shay Capital LLC bought a new position in Scholastic in the third quarter worth approximately $620,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Scholastic by 531.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 25,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 21,735 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is a global company dedicated to children’s publishing, education technology and distribution services. The company’s core business encompasses three primary segments: Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution, Education Technology, and International operations. Through its publishing arm, Scholastic produces and distributes a wide range of children’s books, novels, nonfiction titles and classroom magazines under well-known imprints such as Scholastic Press, Graphix and Chicken House.