Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Director Sells 3,250 Shares

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) Director Kaya Henderson sold 3,250 shares of Scholastic stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total value of $130,812.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,298.25. This represents a 31.36% decrease 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.

Scholastic Price Performance

NASDAQ:SCHL traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.98. 444,903 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 365,122. Scholastic Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.68 and a 12 month high of $48.07. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.99 and a 200 day moving average of $39.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $791.74 million, a PE ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.01.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.03. Scholastic had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 5.29%. The company had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Scholastic Corporation will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This is a positive change from Scholastic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is 34.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scholastic

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCHL. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Scholastic by 458.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,593 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Scholastic during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $115,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Scholastic by 127.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Scholastic during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in Scholastic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. 82.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCHL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Zacks Research lowered Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings cut Scholastic from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of Scholastic from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $42.00.

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.