Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Stock Price Up 4.5% – Still a Buy?

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) was up 4.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $35.21 and last traded at $35.0950. 307,970 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 447,274 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SCHL shares. B. Riley Financial dropped their price target on Scholastic from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut Scholastic from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scholastic from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Scholastic has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Scholastic Stock Down 1.0%

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $38.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.44. The firm has a market cap of $656.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The company reported ($3.63) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.42) by ($0.21). Scholastic had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 5.00%. The company had revenue of $216.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.69 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Scholastic Corporation will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kaya Henderson sold 3,250 shares of Scholastic stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total transaction of $130,812.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,298.25. This trade represents a 31.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Iole Lucchese sold 289,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $11,515,450.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 289,623 shares in the company, valued at $11,515,410.48. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 294,986 shares of company stock valued at $11,731,334 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCHL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Scholastic in the second quarter worth about $120,724,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,662,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Scholastic during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,417,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Scholastic during the second quarter worth approximately $10,442,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in Scholastic by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 279,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,287,000 after buying an additional 17,407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation is a global children’s publishing, education and media company. Founded in 1920 by M. R. Robinson, the company develops and distributes books, classroom materials, digital learning resources and educational media for children, families, teachers and schools.

Its publishing portfolio includes original and licensed children’s books, series and educational titles, while its education business provides classroom magazines, supplemental curriculum materials, professional learning resources and digital platforms.