Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.03, FiscalAI reports. Scholastic had a net margin of 3.88% and a return on equity of 2.47%. 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 previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS.

Scholastic Stock Performance

NASDAQ SCHL traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $46.50. The stock had a trading volume of 503,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 461,969. Scholastic has a 52-week low of $21.34 and a 52-week high of $48.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.58 and a 200 day moving average of $38.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.99.

Scholastic Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Scholastic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Scholastic’s payout ratio is currently 32.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCHL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Scholastic by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 824 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 80,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 29,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 10,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,024 shares during the period. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCHL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Scholastic in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Scholastic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of Scholastic from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Three research 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 Company Profile

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.