Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Stock Price Up 4.5% – Still a Buy?

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL)’s share price rose 4.5% on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $35.21 and last traded at $35.0950. 307,970 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 447,274 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.58.

Key Scholastic News

Here are the key news stories impacting Scholastic this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Scholastic will acquire Cottage Door Press for approximately $71 million. The deal expands Scholastic’s presence in early-childhood publishing and adds Cottage Door’s books, formats and distribution channels to its portfolio. The announcement prompted shares to climb in premarket trading. Scholastic to Acquire Cottage Door Press
• Positive Sentiment: The acquisition could provide new growth opportunities in early-childhood education and publishing, helping Scholastic diversify beyond its existing book-fair and education businesses. At roughly $71 million, the transaction is meaningful relative to Scholastic’s approximately $662 million market capitalization. Scholastic to Acquire Cottage Door Press for $71 Million
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights mixed operating conditions: book fairs and franchise activity remain important contributors, while education-sector headwinds are weighing on results. Investors are likely to focus on management’s outlook and integration plans for Cottage Door. SCHL Q3 Deep Dive
• Negative Sentiment: Sidoti reduced its FY2027 EPS forecast to $1.29 from $1.46 and lowered several future quarterly estimates, including Q3 2027 to a loss of $0.88 per share from $0.84. The revisions suggest analysts see continued earnings pressure despite the current-year consensus estimate of $1.50. Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for Scholastic Q3 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: B. Riley lowered Scholastic’s price target to $35 from $42 and maintained a neutral rating, reflecting reduced confidence in near-term upside. Scholastic Stock Gains After a Difficult First Quarter

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Scholastic from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on Scholastic from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Scholastic from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scholastic has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Scholastic Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $660.48 million, a PE ratio of 25.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.42.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The company reported ($3.63) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.42) by ($0.21). Scholastic had a return on equity of 4.71% and a net margin of 3.60%.The firm had revenue of $216.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.69 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Scholastic Corporation will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Scholastic’s payout ratio is presently 71.43%.

Insider Activity at Scholastic

In other Scholastic news, EVP Iole Lucchese sold 289,624 shares of Scholastic stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total transaction of $11,515,450.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 289,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,515,410.48. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Andres A. Alonso sold 2,112 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 21,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,492.92. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 294,986 shares of company stock valued at $11,731,334. 12.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Scholastic

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Scholastic in the 2nd quarter valued at about $56,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the second quarter valued at approximately $480,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,373,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in Scholastic during the second quarter worth approximately $235,000. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC purchased a new position in Scholastic during the second quarter worth approximately $333,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation is a global children’s publishing, education and media company. Founded in 1920 by M. R. Robinson, the company develops and distributes books, classroom materials, digital learning resources and educational media for children, families, teachers and schools.

Its publishing portfolio includes original and licensed children’s books, series and educational titles, while its education business provides classroom magazines, supplemental curriculum materials, professional learning resources and digital platforms.