Short Interest in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) Grows By 22.4%

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 733,500 shares, an increase of 22.4% from the October 15th total of 599,200 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 195,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Scholastic Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of Scholastic stock traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 170,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,573. Scholastic has a 1-year low of $23.69 and a 1-year high of $41.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $694.21 million, a PE ratio of 45.38 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.77 and a 200 day moving average of $31.76.

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

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 142.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scholastic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SCHL. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in Scholastic in the third quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in Scholastic by 128.1% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 49,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 27,812 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Scholastic by 99.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 4,845 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Scholastic by 9.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 502,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,075,000 after purchasing an additional 41,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

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.