Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) Short Interest Update

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,424,201 shares, a growth of 42.4% from the January 15th total of 1,702,064 shares. Approximately 10.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 388,982 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 388,982 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.2 days. Approximately 10.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Scholastic Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SCHL opened at $34.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $867.25 million, a PE ratio of -170.45 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.94. Scholastic has a twelve month low of $15.77 and a twelve month high of $35.98.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 2.66%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Scholastic will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Scholastic’s payout ratio is -400.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHL has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Scholastic from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Institutional Trading of Scholastic

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Scholastic by 879.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,159,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,741,000 after buying an additional 1,040,880 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Scholastic during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,288,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Scholastic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,070,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Scholastic by 286.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 184,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,873,000 after acquiring an additional 136,903 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Scholastic by 160.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 157,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,972,000 after purchasing an additional 96,998 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.