Zacks Research Upgrades Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) to Hold

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Scholastic from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Scholastic from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Scholastic has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.00.

Scholastic Price Performance

Shares of Scholastic stock opened at $35.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $666.89 million, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.01. Scholastic has a one year low of $25.60 and a one year high of $48.07.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $517.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Scholastic will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Scholastic

In related news, Director Kaya Henderson sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total value of $130,812.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,298.25. This represents a 31.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Iole Lucchese sold 289,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $11,515,450.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 289,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,515,410.48. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 294,986 shares of company stock valued at $11,731,334. 12.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Scholastic

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the second quarter worth approximately $56,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in Scholastic in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $480,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Scholastic during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,373,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Scholastic during the 2nd quarter valued at $235,000. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC bought a new position in shares of Scholastic during the 2nd quarter valued at $333,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation is a global children’s publishing, education and media company. Founded in 1920 by M. R. Robinson, the company develops and distributes books, classroom materials, digital learning resources and educational media for children, families, teachers and schools.

Its publishing portfolio includes original and licensed children’s books, series and educational titles, while its education business provides classroom magazines, supplemental curriculum materials, professional learning resources and digital platforms.