Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Trading 5.4% Higher – Time to Buy?

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) shares rose 5.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $21.15 and last traded at $21.11. Approximately 122,120 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 219,118 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Scholastic Trading Up 7.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $604.38 million, a PE ratio of 38.36 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.26 and a 200-day moving average of $29.51.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.48). Scholastic had a return on equity of 4.32% and a net margin of 1.49%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Scholastic Co. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -444.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Scholastic in the second quarter worth $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the 2nd quarter worth about $64,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 58.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in shares of Scholastic in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $243,000. 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.