Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 66,890 Shares of Scholastic Corporation $SCHL

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its Scholastic stake by 62.1%, purchasing 66,890 shares to own 174,539 shares valued at approximately $6.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.57% of SCHL.
• Scholastic reported quarterly EPS of $2.19, slightly above the $2.16 consensus estimate, but revenue of $476.1 million fell short of the $517.1 million forecast. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $2.61.
• Scholastic raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share, equivalent to a $1.00 annualized payout and a 2.5% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $42.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL - Free Report) by 62.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,539 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 66,890 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.80% of Scholastic worth $6,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCHL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Scholastic by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,593,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,230,000 after buying an additional 59,017 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Scholastic by 879.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,159,261 shares of the company's stock worth $31,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,880 shares during the last quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP increased its stake in Scholastic by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 797,878 shares of the company's stock worth $23,641,000 after acquiring an additional 31,427 shares during the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 668,904 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,820,000 after acquiring an additional 76,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 424,973 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,592,000 after acquiring an additional 154,668 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.57% of the company's stock.

Scholastic Stock Performance

SCHL stock opened at $40.76 on Tuesday. Scholastic Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.68 and a 52 week high of $48.07. The firm's fifty day moving average is $43.79 and its 200 day moving average is $39.04. The firm has a market cap of $886.12 million, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.99.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.03. Scholastic had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 5.08%. The business had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Scholastic Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Scholastic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Scholastic's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on SCHL shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Scholastic in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Scholastic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of Scholastic from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Scholastic from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.00.

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation NASDAQ: SCHL is a global company dedicated to children's publishing, education technology and distribution services. The company's core business encompasses three primary segments: Children's Book Publishing and Distribution, Education Technology, and International operations. Through its publishing arm, Scholastic produces and distributes a wide range of children's books, novels, nonfiction titles and classroom magazines under well-known imprints such as Scholastic Press, Graphix and Chicken House.

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