Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Trading Up 5.4% – Still a Buy?

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)’s stock price shot up 5.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $21.15 and last traded at $21.11. 122,120 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 219,118 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Scholastic Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $609.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.68 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.66.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Scholastic Co. 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 Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Scholastic’s payout ratio is currently -444.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 291.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after buying an additional 30,699 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Scholastic by 40.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 52,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 15,183 shares during the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in Scholastic during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $243,000. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its holdings in Scholastic by 128.1% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 49,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 27,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 99.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 4,845 shares in the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.