Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Shares Up 6.6% – Here’s Why

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)’s share price rose 6.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $21.37 and last traded at $21.52. Approximately 325,096 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 36% from the average daily volume of 239,781 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.19.

Scholastic Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $601.33 million, a PE ratio of -118.77 and a beta of 1.08.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.48). Scholastic had a negative net margin of 0.27% and a positive return on equity of 1.91%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Scholastic Co. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Scholastic’s payout ratio is -444.44%.

Institutional Trading of Scholastic

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCHL. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scholastic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Scholastic during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Scholastic by 125.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 58.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Scholastic in the 4th quarter worth $96,000. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scholastic Company Profile

Scholastic Corporation publishes and distributes children’s books worldwide. It operates in three segments: Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution, Education Solutions, and International. The Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution segment engages in publication and distribution of children’s print, digital, and audio books, as well as media and interactive products through its school reading events and trade channel; and operation of school-based book clubs and book fairs in the United States.