Insider Selling: Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Director Sells $85,071.36 in Stock

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) Director Andres Alonso sold 2,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total value of $85,071.36. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,492.92. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Scholastic Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:SCHL traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $39.11. The company had a trading volume of 216,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,203. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.12. The firm has a market cap of $737.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.01. Scholastic Corporation has a 1-year low of $22.68 and a 1-year high of $48.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.03. Scholastic had a return on equity of 5.29% and a net margin of 3.58%.The firm had revenue of $476.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Research analysts predict that Scholastic Corporation will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Scholastic during the second quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Scholastic by 458.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,593 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Scholastic in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Scholastic by 127.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCHL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on shares of Scholastic from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Scholastic from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

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.