Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) Stock Position Reduced by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,564 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,846 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.41% of Scholastic worth $3,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SCHL. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the 1st quarter worth approximately $215,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 26,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 5,299 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 28.5% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 10,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 47.7% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 30,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 9,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Scholastic by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

Scholastic Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SCHL opened at $25.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $711.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.18 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.38. Scholastic Co. has a 52-week low of $23.69 and a 52-week high of $41.79.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($2.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.48) by $0.35. Scholastic had a return on equity of 4.32% and a net margin of 1.49%. The business had revenue of $237.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $233.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.20) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Scholastic Co. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is 142.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.