Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $23.00 and last traded at $23.00, with a volume of 212 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Scholastic Stock Performance

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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.30. The company has a market capitalization of $716.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.46 and a beta of 1.06.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($2.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.48) by $0.35. Scholastic had a return on equity of 4.32% and a net margin of 1.49%. The company had revenue of $237.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.49 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($2.20) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Scholastic Co. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Scholastic’s payout ratio is currently 142.86%.

Institutional Trading of Scholastic

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Scholastic by 18.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,120,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,744,000 after buying an additional 171,775 shares during the last quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Scholastic by 32.7% in the second quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 264,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,384,000 after acquiring an additional 65,120 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Scholastic by 744.3% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 65,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after buying an additional 57,852 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Scholastic by 13.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 488,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,319,000 after purchasing an additional 56,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 45.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 182,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,478,000 after buying an additional 56,647 shares in the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.