Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Scholastic from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

Scholastic Price Performance

SCHL stock opened at $34.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.40 and a 200-day moving average of $28.46. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $866.49 million, a P/E ratio of -170.30 and a beta of 1.19. Scholastic has a 12 month low of $15.77 and a 12 month high of $35.79.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.10. Scholastic had a positive return on equity of 2.66% and a negative net margin of 0.21%.The company had revenue of $551.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Scholastic will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Scholastic by 13.6% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 2,423 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Scholastic during the 2nd quarter valued at about $378,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Scholastic by 44.9% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 78,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 24,320 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 286.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 184,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,873,000 after buying an additional 136,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 2.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 694,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,577,000 after buying an additional 19,225 shares during the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.