Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Scholastic from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

Scholastic Price Performance

SCHL opened at $36.05 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $917.11 million, a PE ratio of -180.25 and a beta of 1.17. Scholastic has a 1 year low of $15.77 and a 1 year high of $36.24.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.10. Scholastic had a negative net margin of 0.21% and a positive return on equity of 2.66%. The business had revenue of $551.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $556.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Scholastic 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -400.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scholastic

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SCHL. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Scholastic by 458.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,593 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Scholastic by 63.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Scholastic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $116,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Scholastic in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $137,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Scholastic by 127.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the period. 82.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.