Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Hits New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $24.47 and last traded at $24.64, with a volume of 159314 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Scholastic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th.

Scholastic Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.08 and a 200 day moving average of $32.52. 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 $693.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.34 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued 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 3.25%. Scholastic's dividend payout ratio is 142.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scholastic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SCHL. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Scholastic during the first quarter worth $129,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Scholastic during the first quarter worth $215,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Scholastic by 13.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,776 shares of the company's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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