Scholastic Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.20 (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 18th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of 0.20 per share on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st.

Scholastic has raised its dividend by an average of 10.1% annually over the last three years. Scholastic has a payout ratio of 24.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Scholastic to earn $3.24 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.7%.

Scholastic Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Scholastic stock opened at $32.01 on Friday. Scholastic has a 1-year low of $28.47 and a 1-year high of $41.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $31.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.57. The company has a market cap of $903.96 million, a P/E ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 1.03.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by ($0.93). Scholastic had a net margin of 0.76% and a return on equity of 3.34%. The business had revenue of $474.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $552.50 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Scholastic will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th.

Insider Activity

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