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

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL)’s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $29.36 and traded as high as $33.20. Scholastic shares last traded at $32.86, with a volume of 350,546 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on SCHL shares. Zacks Research upgraded Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Scholastic from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scholastic has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

Scholastic Stock Up 0.9%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.36. The stock has a market cap of $835.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -164.30 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its quarterly 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. Scholastic had a positive return on equity of 2.66% and a negative net margin of 0.21%.The business had revenue of $551.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $556.72 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Scholastic Corporation will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -400.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scholastic

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 4.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Scholastic by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Scholastic by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 824 shares during the period. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in Scholastic by 5.0% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Scholastic by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

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.