Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 904,500 shares, a growth of 31.7% from the December 15th total of 687,000 shares. Currently, 4.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 268,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Scholastic Stock Performance

SCHL traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.00. 192,088 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 302,299. The company has a market capitalization of $562 million, a P/E ratio of -111.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.97. Scholastic has a fifty-two week low of $18.57 and a fifty-two week high of $40.74.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.48). Scholastic had a positive return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 0.27%. As a group, analysts predict that Scholastic 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 Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Scholastic’s payout ratio is presently -444.42%.

Institutional Trading of Scholastic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Scholastic by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,120,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,744,000 after acquiring an additional 171,775 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Scholastic by 744.3% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 65,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 57,852 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Scholastic by 13.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 488,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,319,000 after purchasing an additional 56,835 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Scholastic in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,936,000. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scholastic Company Profile

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.