Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Stock Price Down 5.9% – Time to Sell?

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) shares fell 5.9% on Friday . The company traded as low as $27.17 and last traded at $27.0730. 137,371 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 320,724 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.77.

Trending Headlines about Scholastic

Here are the key news stories impacting Scholastic this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 FY2026 earnings materially beat expectations — Scholastic reported an EPS surprise (reported ~$2.57 vs. street ~$2.07), showing stepped-up profitability versus a year ago; that earnings beat is the primary near-term positive driver. Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Completed large sale?leaseback transactions that generate significant proceeds — Scholastic closed sale?leasebacks on its NYC HQ and Jefferson City distribution center, raising roughly $481M in proceeds. Management is using proceeds to strengthen capital returns (including an expanded $150M share repurchase authorization). That materially improves liquidity/strategic optionality and is supportive for the stock. Sale?Leaseback Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained — Board declared a $0.20 quarterly cash dividend (payable March 16, 2026), which supports income-minded investors and signals confidence from management. Dividend Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue growth was modest and slightly missed some Street estimates — Q2 revenue (~$551.1M) rose only modestly year-over-year and fell short of some consensus figures, so the beat was driven mainly by margin improvement rather than strong top-line momentum. Investors should watch future sales cadence. Revenue Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Full presentation and call transcripts are available — read management commentary and slides for detail on guidance use of proceeds and cadence into the back half; these will shape near?term expectations. Earnings Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Operating cash flow weakened — the company reported materially lower cash from operations and a decline in cash balances year-over-year, which raises questions about working capital and near-term liquidity if cash generation does not improve. This is a downside risk despite the one?time proceeds. Cash Flow Article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCHL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. B. Riley initiated coverage on Scholastic in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Scholastic in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scholastic presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Scholastic Trading Down 1.8%

The firm has a market cap of $710.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.56 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.49.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.10. Scholastic had a positive return on equity of 1.10% and a negative net margin of 0.65%.The firm had revenue of $551.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.72 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Scholastic Corporation will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Scholastic’s payout ratio is -121.21%.

Institutional Trading of Scholastic

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 4.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Scholastic by 63.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 983 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Scholastic by 819.5% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares during the period. Strs Ohio grew its position in Scholastic by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Scholastic by 1.9% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 80,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.