Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Stock Price Down 5.1% – Time to Sell?

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) fell 5.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $36.48 and last traded at $36.35. Approximately 166,291 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 439,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SCHL shares. Zacks Research lowered Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Scholastic from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Scholastic from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $42.00.

Scholastic Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $672.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.06 million. Scholastic had a return on equity of 5.29% and a net margin of 3.58%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Scholastic Corporation will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scholastic

In other news, Director Andres A. Alonso sold 2,112 shares of Scholastic stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total transaction of $85,071.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,492.92. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kaya Henderson sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total transaction of $130,812.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,298.25. The trade was a 31.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 294,986 shares of company stock valued at $11,731,334 in the last ninety days. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Scholastic

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCHL. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of Scholastic during the first quarter worth approximately $1,164,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,236,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Scholastic by 62.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 174,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,817,000 after buying an additional 66,890 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in Scholastic during the first quarter worth approximately $1,352,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP increased its stake in Scholastic by 248.3% during the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 40,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,565,000 after acquiring an additional 28,571 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

Scholastic Company Profile

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.