Graham (NYSE:GHC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $3.64 EPS

Graham (NYSE:GHC) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $22.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $18.94 by $3.64, Zacks reports. Graham had a return on equity of 5.79% and a net margin of 4.86%.

Graham Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of GHC traded up $29.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $969.25. 4,943 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,881. Graham has a 52 week low of $683.00 and a 52 week high of $988.26. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $907.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $860.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Graham Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Graham’s dividend payout ratio is 14.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graham news, CAO Marcel A. Snyman sold 159 shares of Graham stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $881.30, for a total transaction of $140,126.70. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $389,534.60. This trade represents a 26.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 20.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Graham from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Graham Company Profile

Graham Holdings Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified education and media company in the United States and internationally. It provides test preparation services and materials; professional training and exam preparation for professional certifications and licensures; and non-academic operations support services to the Purdue University Global; operations support services for online courses and programs; training and test preparation services for accounting and financial services professionals; English-language training, academic preparation programs, and test preparation for English proficiency exams; and A-level examination preparation services, as well as operates colleges, business school, higher education institution, and an online learning institution.