Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on SCHL. Zacks Research raised shares of Scholastic from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. B. Riley Financial cut their target price on shares of Scholastic from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Scholastic Price Performance

Shares of SCHL stock opened at $38.71 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.56. Scholastic has a one year low of $26.38 and a one year high of $48.07. The firm has a market cap of $730.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The company reported ($3.63) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.42) by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $216.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.69 million. Scholastic had a return on equity of 5.00% and a net margin of 3.60%. On average, analysts expect that Scholastic will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Scholastic news, EVP Iole Lucchese sold 289,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were 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 approximately $11,515,410.48. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kaya Henderson sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total transaction of $130,812.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,113 shares in the company, valued at $286,298.25. The trade was a 31.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 294,986 shares of company stock valued at $11,731,334 in the last 90 days. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Scholastic

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Scholastic in the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the second quarter worth $56,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Scholastic in the second quarter valued at about $115,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 5,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Scholastic in the first quarter valued at about $221,000. 82.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Scholastic

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.