Zacks Research Upgrades Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) to Strong-Buy

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Scholastic from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scholastic presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Scholastic Stock Performance

SCHL opened at $34.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.46. Scholastic has a 1 year low of $15.77 and a 1 year high of $35.79. The company has a market capitalization of $866.49 million, a PE ratio of -170.30 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $551.10 million for 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. Research analysts expect that Scholastic will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its stake in shares of Scholastic by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 1,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Scholastic by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 80,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,682,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.