Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $34.46 and traded as high as $41.30. Scholastic shares last traded at $40.90, with a volume of 181,795 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCHL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Zacks Research cut shares of Scholastic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of Scholastic from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Scholastic from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

Scholastic Trading Down 0.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $889.17 million, a PE ratio of 16.49 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.46.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.22. The company had revenue of $329.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $331.53 million. Scholastic had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 3.88%. Research analysts forecast that Scholastic Corporation will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Scholastic’s payout ratio is 32.26%.

Scholastic announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 23% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Scholastic by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,593,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,230,000 after purchasing an additional 59,017 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Scholastic by 879.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,159,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,880 shares in the last quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP grew its holdings in Scholastic by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 797,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,641,000 after purchasing an additional 31,427 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Scholastic by 6.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 739,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,244,000 after purchasing an additional 44,558 shares during the period. Finally, Bragg Financial Advisors Inc increased its position in Scholastic by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 668,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,820,000 after buying an additional 76,801 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

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.