Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SCHL. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Scholastic from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Scholastic from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Scholastic Stock Performance

Shares of Scholastic stock opened at $35.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $666.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.94 and its 200-day moving average is $40.46. Scholastic has a one year low of $25.60 and a one year high of $48.07.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.06 million. Scholastic had a return on equity of 5.29% and a net margin of 3.58%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Scholastic will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Scholastic’s payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andres A. Alonso sold 2,112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total value of $85,071.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,492.92. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kaya Henderson sold 3,250 shares of Scholastic stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total value of $130,812.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,298.25. The trade was a 31.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 294,986 shares of company stock valued at $11,731,334. 12.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCHL. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Scholastic in the 2nd quarter valued at $56,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of Scholastic in the second quarter valued at $480,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Scholastic in the second quarter valued at $1,373,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Scholastic in the second quarter valued at about $235,000. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the 2nd quarter worth about $333,000. 82.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Scholastic

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

Its publishing portfolio includes original and licensed children’s books, series and educational titles, while its education business provides classroom magazines, supplemental curriculum materials, professional learning resources and digital platforms.