Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $19.00 and last traded at $19.07, with a volume of 94729 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 5th.

Scholastic Trading Down 5.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $529.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.64 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.48). Scholastic had a net margin of 1.49% and a return on equity of 4.32%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Scholastic Co. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is currently -444.44%.

Institutional Trading of Scholastic

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Scholastic in the second quarter worth about $279,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Scholastic in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,295,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Scholastic in the second quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Scholastic by 50.0% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 34,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,222,000 after buying an additional 11,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 488,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,319,000 after acquiring an additional 56,835 shares during the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation publishes and distributes children’s books worldwide. It operates in three segments: Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution, Education Solutions, and International. The Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution segment engages in publication and distribution of children’s print, digital, and audio books, as well as media and interactive products through its school reading events and trade channel; and operation of school-based book clubs and book fairs in the United States.