Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $36.24 and last traded at $35.94, with a volume of 141205 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Scholastic from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Scholastic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Scholastic Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $917.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -180.25 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Scholastic Corporation will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Scholastic’s payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Institutional Trading of Scholastic

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Scholastic by 63.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Scholastic by 458.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 2,593 shares in the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Scholastic during the 4th quarter valued at $116,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Scholastic during the third quarter worth $137,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Scholastic by 127.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 2,912 shares in the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.