Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $31.03 and traded as high as $39.14. Scholastic shares last traded at $38.83, with a volume of 431,849 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Scholastic from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Scholastic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Scholastic from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Scholastic Stock Up 0.2%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.03. The firm has a market cap of $844.16 million, a P/E ratio of 15.66 and a beta of 1.17.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.22. Scholastic had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 3.88%.The firm had revenue of $329.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $331.53 million. Equities research analysts predict that Scholastic Corporation will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is 32.26%.

Scholastic declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 23% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Scholastic

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 21.5% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 386,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,594,000 after purchasing an additional 68,562 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Scholastic by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 739,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,244,000 after buying an additional 44,558 shares during the period. EVR Research LP lifted its holdings in Scholastic by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. EVR Research LP now owns 190,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,202,000 after buying an additional 70,270 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in Scholastic by 124.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 97,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after buying an additional 53,784 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in Scholastic in the 3rd quarter valued at about $396,000. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.