Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Scholastic Price Performance

Shares of SCHL opened at $26.01 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $30.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.80. Scholastic has a 12 month low of $25.54 and a 12 month high of $41.79. The company has a market cap of $734.52 million, a P/E ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($2.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.48) by $0.35. Scholastic had a return on equity of 4.32% and a net margin of 1.49%. The firm had revenue of $237.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($2.20) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Scholastic will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scholastic

In other news, EVP Iole Lucchese purchased 1,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.49 per share, with a total value of $50,430.46. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,264,309.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Scholastic news, EVP Iole Lucchese acquired 1,654 shares of Scholastic stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.49 per share, with a total value of $50,430.46. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 74,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,264,309.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Warwick Peter acquired 1,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.46 per share, with a total value of $50,990.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,178,470.54. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 18.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SCHL. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Scholastic during the third quarter worth approximately $413,000. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 16.7% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 28,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 4,040 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in Scholastic in the 2nd quarter valued at $363,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Scholastic by 45.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 182,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,478,000 after buying an additional 56,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 62.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 67,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after buying an additional 25,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

Scholastic Company Profile

Scholastic Corporation publishes and distributes children’s books worldwide. It operates in three segments: Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution, Education Solutions, and International. The Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution segment engages in publication and distribution of children’s print, digital, and audio books, as well as media and interactive products through its school reading events and trade channel; and operation of school-based book clubs and book fairs in the United States.