Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Stock Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.11 and traded as high as $37.49. Scholastic shares last traded at $37.20, with a volume of 188,701 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCHL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Scholastic from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 18th. B. Riley Financial decreased their target price on Scholastic from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 28th. Zacks Research raised Scholastic from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Scholastic from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Scholastic Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $701.70 million, a PE ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The company reported ($3.63) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.42) by ($0.21). Scholastic had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 5.00%. The business had revenue of $216.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.69 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Scholastic Corporation will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andres A. Alonso sold 2,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total transaction of $85,071.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,492.92. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Iole Lucchese sold 289,624 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $11,515,450.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 289,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,515,410.48. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 12.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in Scholastic in the third quarter valued at about $258,000. CenterBook Partners LP increased its stake in Scholastic by 194.1% in the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 41,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 27,197 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its stake in Scholastic by 3.7% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 30,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Scholastic by 51.1% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) is a global children’s publishing, education and media company. It develops and distributes books, digital content, classroom magazines, educational technology and other learning materials for children, educators and families.

The company publishes fiction and nonfiction for children and young adults through trade imprints and recognizable series and brands, including Harry Potter, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Goosebumps, Captain Underpants and The Hunger Games.