Bank of America Corp DE Purchases New Position in Scholastic Corporation $SCHL

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 44,751 Scholastic shares valued at approximately $2.06 million, while institutional investors collectively own 82.57% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $35 price target after B. Riley cut its target from $42; insiders have sold nearly 295,000 shares worth $11.7 million over the past 90 days.
• Scholastic reported a quarterly loss of $3.63 per share and revenue of $216.8 million, missing estimates, but declared a $0.25 quarterly dividend, representing a 2.8% yield.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 44,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,059,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.24% of Scholastic as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SCHL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Scholastic during the 2nd quarter worth $120,724,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in Scholastic by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 279,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,287,000 after acquiring an additional 17,407 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Scholastic by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 266,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,393,000 after acquiring an additional 10,636 shares in the last quarter. EVR Research LP grew its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. EVR Research LP now owns 210,000 shares of the company's stock worth $6,222,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Scholastic by 62.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 174,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,817,000 after purchasing an additional 66,890 shares during the period. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on SCHL shares. Weiss Ratings cut Scholastic from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on shares of Scholastic from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Scholastic from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Scholastic currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Insider Activity at Scholastic

In other Scholastic news, Director Kaya Henderson sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total value of $130,812.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,113 shares in the company, valued at $286,298.25. This represents a 31.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Andres A. Alonso sold 2,112 shares of Scholastic stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total value of $85,071.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,189 shares in the company, valued at $853,492.92. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 294,986 shares of company stock worth $11,731,334. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Scholastic Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SCHL opened at $35.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $663.12 million, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.01. Scholastic Corporation has a 1-year low of $26.38 and a 1-year high of $48.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.44.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The company reported ($3.63) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.42) by ($0.21). Scholastic had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 5.00%. The business had revenue of $216.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.69 million. Equities analysts predict that Scholastic Corporation will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Scholastic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.43%.

Key Scholastic News

Here are the key news stories impacting Scholastic this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Scholastic agreed to acquire Cottage Door Press for approximately $71 million, subject to customary adjustments. The deal expands Scholastic’s early-childhood publishing portfolio, adds innovative book formats and sales channels, and could create longer-term growth opportunities. Shares reportedly climbed in premarket trading following the announcement. Scholastic to Acquire Cottage Door Press
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted the resilience of Scholastic’s core franchises, including book fairs and children’s publishing, during its earnings discussions. The Cottage Door transaction reinforces the company’s strategy of investing in areas with potential for growth across formats and distribution channels. Scholastic Earnings Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ questions and the earnings-call commentary focused on book-fair performance, franchise activity, and the outlook for education markets. The discussion points to a mixed setup: established franchises are performing relatively well, but near-term results remain seasonal and exposed to education-sector pressures. SCHL Q3 Deep Dive
• Negative Sentiment: B. Riley lowered its expectations for Scholastic’s stock price, while Sidoti reduced several future EPS forecasts, including FY2027 earnings to $1.29 from $1.46 and Q3 2027 EPS to a loss of $0.88 from a loss of $0.84. The revisions signal concerns about slower earnings growth and may limit investor enthusiasm. B. Riley Lowers Scholastic Expectations

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation is a global children's publishing, education and media company. Founded in 1920 by M. R. Robinson, the company develops and distributes books, classroom materials, digital learning resources and educational media for children, families, teachers and schools.

Its publishing portfolio includes original and licensed children's books, series and educational titles, while its education business provides classroom magazines, supplemental curriculum materials, professional learning resources and digital platforms.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SCHL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.