Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $43.99 and last traded at $43.1070, with a volume of 129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on Scholastic from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Scholastic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

Scholastic Stock Up 0.1%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.27. The firm has a market cap of $928.30 million, a P/E ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 1.02.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.22. Scholastic had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 3.88%.The firm had revenue of $329.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $331.53 million. Equities research analysts predict that Scholastic Corporation will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.26%.

Scholastic announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 23% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Scholastic by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,593,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,230,000 after purchasing an additional 59,017 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Scholastic by 879.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,159,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,741,000 after buying an additional 1,040,880 shares during the period. J. Goldman & Co LP raised its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 797,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,641,000 after acquiring an additional 31,427 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 6.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 739,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,244,000 after acquiring an additional 44,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bragg Financial Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 668,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,820,000 after acquiring an additional 76,801 shares in the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.