Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Given New $42.00 Price Target at B. Riley Financial

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) had its price objective increased by B. Riley Financial from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

SCHL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Research cut Scholastic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Scholastic in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Scholastic currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

Scholastic Price Performance

SCHL opened at $45.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.55. Scholastic has a fifty-two week low of $20.60 and a fifty-two week high of $48.07. The company has a market cap of $984.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99.

Scholastic announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 23% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Scholastic by 160.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 157,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,972,000 after buying an additional 96,998 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Scholastic by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 164,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,100,000 after acquiring an additional 6,628 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Scholastic by 457.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 81,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,537,000 after acquiring an additional 66,798 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Scholastic by 16.8% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 23,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 3,365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

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.