Short Interest in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) Increases By 31.7%

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 904,500 shares, an increase of 31.7% from the December 15th total of 687,000 shares. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 268,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SCHL. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Scholastic by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Scholastic in the 3rd quarter valued at about $243,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Scholastic during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $279,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake 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. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scholastic Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of SCHL traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $20.00. 192,088 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 301,956. Scholastic has a fifty-two week low of $18.57 and a fifty-two week high of $40.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.79 and a 200-day moving average of $27.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $562 million, a P/E ratio of -111.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.48). Scholastic had a positive return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 0.27%. On average, research analysts expect that Scholastic will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. Scholastic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -444.42%.

Scholastic Company Profile

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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