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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Scholastic Trading Down 2.4 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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 company has a market cap 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 results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($2.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.48) by $0.35. Scholastic had a net margin of 1.49% and a return on equity of 4.32%. The company had revenue of $237.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $233.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.20) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Scholastic Co. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.13%. Scholastic’s payout ratio is 142.86%.

Insider Transactions at Scholastic

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Scholastic in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Scholastic in the 2nd quarter valued at $64,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scholastic during the 1st quarter worth $129,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scholastic during the 1st quarter worth $215,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the period. 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.