Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on SCHL. Zacks Research upgraded Scholastic from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on Scholastic from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Scholastic from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Scholastic Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of Scholastic stock opened at $39.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $743.08 million, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.56. Scholastic has a 1 year low of $26.38 and a 1 year high of $48.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The company reported ($3.63) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.42) by ($0.21). Scholastic had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 5.00%. The business had revenue of $216.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.69 million. Equities research analysts predict that Scholastic will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Scholastic’s payout ratio is presently 71.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scholastic

In other news, Director Kaya Henderson sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total transaction of $130,812.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,113 shares in the company, valued at $286,298.25. This trade represents a 31.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Iole Lucchese sold 289,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $11,515,450.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 289,623 shares in the company, valued at $11,515,410.48. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 294,986 shares of company stock valued at $11,731,334. Corporate insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCHL. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Scholastic during the second quarter valued at $43,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the second quarter valued at about $56,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the second quarter valued at about $115,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Scholastic by 5,351.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS purchased a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the first quarter worth about $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

Scholastic Company Profile

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

Its publishing portfolio includes picture books, middle-grade and young adult titles, classroom magazines, reference materials and educational technology. Scholastic is associated with well-known brands and series such as Harry Potter in the United States, Clifford the Big Red Dog, The Magic School Bus, Captain Underpants, Dog Man and Goosebumps.