Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Given “Neutral” Rating at B. Riley Financial

B. Riley Financial restated their neutral rating on shares of Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $37.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Scholastic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Scholastic from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

Scholastic Stock Performance

Shares of SCHL stock opened at $34.94 on Monday. Scholastic has a 12-month low of $15.77 and a 12-month high of $36.24. 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 capitalization of $888.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -174.70 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.95.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $551.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Scholastic will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is -400.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Scholastic by 160.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 157,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,972,000 after acquiring an additional 96,998 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 164,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,100,000 after purchasing an additional 6,628 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Scholastic by 457.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 81,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 66,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Scholastic by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 17,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876 shares during the last quarter. 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.