Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Trading Up 3.6% – Time to Buy?

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)’s share price traded up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $21.57 and last traded at $21.56. 17,584 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 220,784 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 5th.

Scholastic Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $596.58 million, a PE ratio of 37.91 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.20.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.48). Scholastic had a net margin of 1.49% and a return on equity of 4.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Scholastic Co. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Scholastic’s payout ratio is currently -444.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scholastic

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Scholastic by 18.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,120,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,744,000 after buying an additional 171,775 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Scholastic by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 502,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,075,000 after purchasing an additional 41,864 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Scholastic by 13.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 488,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,319,000 after purchasing an additional 56,835 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Scholastic by 45.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 182,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,478,000 after purchasing an additional 56,647 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 149,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,799,000 after buying an additional 7,638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

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.