Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Stock Price Down 5.9% – Here’s What Happened

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) was down 5.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $27.17 and last traded at $27.0730. Approximately 137,371 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 320,724 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.77.

Scholastic News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Scholastic this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 FY2026 earnings materially beat expectations — Scholastic reported an EPS surprise (reported ~$2.57 vs. street ~$2.07), showing stepped-up profitability versus a year ago; that earnings beat is the primary near-term positive driver. Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Completed large sale‑leaseback transactions that generate significant proceeds — Scholastic closed sale‑leasebacks on its NYC HQ and Jefferson City distribution center, raising roughly $481M in proceeds. Management is using proceeds to strengthen capital returns (including an expanded $150M share repurchase authorization). That materially improves liquidity/strategic optionality and is supportive for the stock. Sale‑Leaseback Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained — Board declared a $0.20 quarterly cash dividend (payable March 16, 2026), which supports income-minded investors and signals confidence from management. Dividend Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue growth was modest and slightly missed some Street estimates — Q2 revenue (~$551.1M) rose only modestly year-over-year and fell short of some consensus figures, so the beat was driven mainly by margin improvement rather than strong top-line momentum. Investors should watch future sales cadence. Revenue Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Full presentation and call transcripts are available — read management commentary and slides for detail on guidance use of proceeds and cadence into the back half; these will shape near‑term expectations. Earnings Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Operating cash flow weakened — the company reported materially lower cash from operations and a decline in cash balances year-over-year, which raises questions about working capital and near-term liquidity if cash generation does not improve. This is a downside risk despite the one‑time proceeds. Cash Flow Article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SCHL. Wall Street Zen cut Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. B. Riley initiated coverage on Scholastic in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Scholastic in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Scholastic Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $710.08 million, a PE ratio of -42.56 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.49.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 negative net margin of 0.65% and a positive return on equity of 1.10%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Scholastic Corporation will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Scholastic’s payout ratio is currently -121.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scholastic

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 12.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 637,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,044,000 after acquiring an additional 69,722 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Scholastic in the 1st quarter valued at $1,980,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Scholastic by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 78,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 16,780 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Scholastic by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 675,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,755,000 after purchasing an additional 53,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Scholastic during the 1st quarter worth $429,000. 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.