Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $26.43, but opened at $25.57. Scholastic shares last traded at $25.57, with a volume of 487 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Scholastic Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.85 and a 200-day moving average of $31.11. The firm has a market cap of $756.68 million, a PE ratio of 47.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($2.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.48) by $0.35. The business had revenue of $237.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $233.49 million. Scholastic had a return on equity of 4.32% and a net margin of 1.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.20) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Scholastic Co. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 142.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHL. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Scholastic by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,120,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,744,000 after acquiring an additional 171,775 shares during the last quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Scholastic by 32.7% during the 2nd quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 264,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,384,000 after purchasing an additional 65,120 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Scholastic by 744.3% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 65,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 57,852 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Scholastic by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 488,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,319,000 after purchasing an additional 56,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Scholastic by 45.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 182,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,478,000 after purchasing an additional 56,647 shares during the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.