Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Scholastic in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Scholastic Price Performance

NASDAQ:SCHL opened at $32.25 on Tuesday. Scholastic has a 52-week low of $15.77 and a 52-week high of $32.31. The company has a market cap of $820.44 million, a P/E ratio of -161.25 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.61.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $551.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Scholastic will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is -400.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SCHL. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Scholastic by 160.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 157,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,972,000 after acquiring an additional 96,998 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Scholastic by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the first quarter valued at about $353,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 4.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 164,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,100,000 after buying an additional 6,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Scholastic by 457.8% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 81,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,537,000 after acquiring an additional 66,798 shares in the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.