Graham (NYSE:GHC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) shares saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 40,169 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 106% from the previous session’s volume of 19,516 shares.The stock last traded at $954.96 and had previously closed at $958.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Graham from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Graham Stock Down 0.7%

The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $939.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $929.22. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 0.93.

Graham (NYSE:GHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $11.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.29 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Graham had a return on equity of 5.79% and a net margin of 4.86%.

Graham Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 17th. Graham’s dividend payout ratio is 5.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graham

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Graham by 333.3% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 26 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Graham by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 31 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Graham by 216.7% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in Graham during the first quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Graham by 100.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 42 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Graham

Graham Holdings Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified education and media company in the United States and internationally. It provides test preparation services and materials; professional training and exam preparation for professional certifications and licensures; and non-academic operations support services to the Purdue University Global; operations support services for online courses and programs; training and test preparation services for accounting and financial services professionals; English-language training, academic preparation programs, and test preparation for English proficiency exams; and A-level examination preparation services, as well as operates colleges, business school, higher education institution, and an online learning institution.