Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $18.80, but opened at $19.98. Scholastic shares last traded at $21.10, with a volume of 188,342 shares traded.

The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.78) by $0.73. Scholastic had a positive return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 0.27%. The company had revenue of $335.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.68 million.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -444.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scholastic

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHL. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 3.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 9,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 81,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Scholastic by 58.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the period. 82.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scholastic Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $596.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -117.88 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.06.

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.