Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $25.53 and last traded at $25.57, with a volume of 102441 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 5th.

Scholastic Stock Down 2.4 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.99 and a 200-day moving average of $33.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $718.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.59 and a beta of 1.03.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($2.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.48) by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $237.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $233.49 million. Scholastic had a return on equity of 4.32% and a net margin of 1.49%. During the same period last year, the company earned ($2.20) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Scholastic Co. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 142.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scholastic

In other news, EVP Iole Lucchese bought 1,654 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.49 per share, with a total value of $50,430.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,264 shares in the company, valued at $2,264,309.36. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Iole Lucchese acquired 1,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.49 per share, for a total transaction of $50,430.46. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 74,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,264,309.36. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Warwick Peter acquired 1,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.46 per share, with a total value of $50,990.04. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,178,470.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCHL. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scholastic in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Scholastic during the second quarter worth approximately $64,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Scholastic during the first quarter worth approximately $129,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Scholastic during the first quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Scholastic by 13.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation publishes and distributes children’s books worldwide. It operates in three segments: Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution, Education Solutions, and International. The Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution segment engages in publication and distribution of children’s print, digital, and audio books, as well as media and interactive products through its school reading events and trade channel; and operation of school-based book clubs and book fairs in the United States.