Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $34.46 and traded as high as $41.30. Scholastic shares last traded at $40.90, with a volume of 181,795 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Scholastic from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on Scholastic from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Scholastic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Scholastic Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a market cap of $880.47 million, a P/E ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.50.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.22. The company had revenue of $329.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $331.53 million. Scholastic had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 3.88%. Equities analysts anticipate that Scholastic Corporation will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.26%.

Scholastic declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 23% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Scholastic by 458.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,593 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Scholastic by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Scholastic during the 4th quarter worth $116,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Scholastic during the 3rd quarter worth $137,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Scholastic by 127.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

Scholastic Company Profile

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.