Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Scholastic Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of SCHL stock opened at $32.01 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.14. The stock has a market cap of $915.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 1.03. Scholastic has a twelve month low of $28.47 and a twelve month high of $41.79.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($2.13) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.48) by $0.35. Scholastic had a net margin of 0.76% and a return on equity of 3.34%. The company had revenue of $237.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $233.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($2.20) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Scholastic will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Iole Lucchese bought 1,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.49 per share, for a total transaction of $50,430.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 74,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,264,309.36. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Iole Lucchese bought 1,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.49 per share, for a total transaction of $50,430.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 74,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,264,309.36. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Warwick Peter bought 1,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.46 per share, for a total transaction of $50,990.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,178,470.54. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 18.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in Scholastic by 16.7% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 28,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 4,040 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in Scholastic in the second quarter valued at approximately $363,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Scholastic by 45.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 182,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,478,000 after purchasing an additional 56,647 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Scholastic by 62.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 67,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 25,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LP increased its stake in Scholastic by 37.1% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 32,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 8,903 shares during the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.