Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $36.44 and traded as high as $43.94. Scholastic shares last traded at $43.93, with a volume of 350,384 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCHL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Scholastic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of Scholastic from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Scholastic in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Scholastic presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Scholastic Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.29 and a 200 day moving average of $36.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 1.02.

Scholastic declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 23% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Scholastic by 458.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,593 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Scholastic by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Scholastic during the fourth quarter worth $116,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Scholastic by 127.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Scholastic by 5,351.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 5,351 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

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.