Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) Short Interest Update

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,424,201 shares, an increase of 42.4% from the January 15th total of 1,702,064 shares. Currently, 10.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 388,982 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 388,982 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.2 days. Currently, 10.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scholastic

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCHL. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Scholastic by 202.8% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 25,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $769,000 after purchasing an additional 17,382 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Scholastic by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 668,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,820,000 after buying an additional 76,801 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 41,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after buying an additional 4,490 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 6,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 30,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 8,987 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SCHL. Weiss Ratings upgraded Scholastic from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Scholastic Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ SCHL opened at $34.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.94. Scholastic has a twelve month low of $15.77 and a twelve month high of $35.98. The company has a market capitalization of $867.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -170.45 and a beta of 1.19.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $551.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $556.72 million. Scholastic had a positive return on equity of 2.66% and a negative net margin of 0.21%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Scholastic will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -400.00%.

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.