Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Stock Rating Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

SCHL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. B. Riley Financial cut their target price on shares of Scholastic from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Scholastic from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Scholastic from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Scholastic Price Performance

Shares of Scholastic stock opened at $38.60 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $38.03 and a 200 day moving average of $40.54. Scholastic has a 52 week low of $26.38 and a 52 week high of $48.07. The company has a market cap of $728.00 million, a PE ratio of 27.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The company reported ($3.63) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.42) by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $216.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.69 million. Scholastic had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 5.00%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Scholastic will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andres A. Alonso sold 2,112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total value 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Iole Lucchese sold 289,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $11,515,450.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 289,623 shares in the company, valued at $11,515,410.48. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 294,986 shares of company stock worth $11,731,334. Corporate insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the second quarter worth $43,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scholastic in the 2nd quarter worth about $56,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Scholastic in the 2nd quarter worth about $115,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Scholastic by 5,351.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS purchased a new stake in Scholastic during the 1st quarter valued at about $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

Scholastic Company Profile

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

Its publishing portfolio includes picture books, middle-grade and young adult titles, classroom magazines, reference materials and educational technology. Scholastic is associated with well-known brands and series such as Harry Potter in the United States, Clifford the Big Red Dog, The Magic School Bus, Captain Underpants, Dog Man and Goosebumps.