Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Scholastic from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Scholastic Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:SCHL opened at $34.06 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.46. The firm has a market cap of $866.49 million, a PE ratio of -170.30 and a beta of 1.19. Scholastic has a 12-month low of $15.77 and a 12-month high of $35.79.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $551.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Scholastic will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 13.6% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 2,423 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Scholastic in the 2nd quarter valued at about $378,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Scholastic by 44.9% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 78,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 24,320 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Scholastic by 286.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 184,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,873,000 after purchasing an additional 136,903 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Scholastic by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 694,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,577,000 after purchasing an additional 19,225 shares during the last quarter. 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.