Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $31.98 and last traded at $31.9540, with a volume of 257537 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Scholastic in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $37.00.

Scholastic Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $810.01 million, a P/E ratio of -159.20 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.79 and its 200 day moving average is $26.49.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $551.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.72 million. Scholastic had a positive return on equity of 2.66% and a negative net margin of 0.21%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Scholastic Corporation will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Scholastic’s payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the 2nd quarter valued at about $378,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Scholastic by 13.6% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,423 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Scholastic in the first quarter worth approximately $353,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Scholastic by 44.9% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 78,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 24,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Scholastic during the first quarter valued at approximately $417,000. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.