Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) Short Interest Up 22.4% in October

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

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 Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SCHL traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.67. 178,521 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 210,610. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $27.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.66. The firm has a market cap of $694.21 million, a PE ratio of 44.05 and a beta of 1.06. Scholastic has a 52 week low of $23.69 and a 52 week high of $41.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($2.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.48) by $0.35. The business had revenue of $237.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.49 million. Scholastic had a net margin of 1.49% and a return on equity of 4.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($2.20) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Scholastic will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scholastic

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCHL. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Scholastic in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Scholastic in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Scholastic by 58.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the first quarter valued at approximately $129,000. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.