Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) Short Interest Down 19.4% in February
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyScholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL – Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,954,162 shares, a decrease of 19.4% from the January 29th total of 2,424,201 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 345,766 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days. Currently, 8.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 8.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 345,766 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days.
Scholastic Price Performance
Shares of SCHL stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.29. The stock had a trading volume of 334,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,613. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $872.34 million, a P/E ratio of -171.45 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.61. Scholastic has a 12-month low of $15.77 and a 12-month high of $35.98.
Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $551.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $556.72 million. Scholastic had a positive return on equity of 2.66% and a negative net margin of 0.21%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Scholastic will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.
Scholastic Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Scholastic’s payout ratio is -400.00%.
Institutional Trading of Scholastic
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SCHL. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Scholastic by 458.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,593 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Scholastic by 63.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the 4th quarter worth about $116,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the 3rd quarter valued at about $137,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Scholastic by 127.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares in the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
SCHL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Scholastic from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Scholastic presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on SCHL
About Scholastic
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is a global company dedicated to children’s publishing, education technology and distribution services. The company’s core business encompasses three primary segments: Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution, Education Technology, and International operations. Through its publishing arm, Scholastic produces and distributes a wide range of children’s books, novels, nonfiction titles and classroom magazines under well-known imprints such as Scholastic Press, Graphix and Chicken House.