Phocas Financial Corp. Has $3.25 Million Stake in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Phocas Financial Corp. reduced its stake in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL - Free Report) by 41.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 86,149 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,795 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. owned approximately 0.29% of Scholastic worth $3,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Scholastic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $516,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Scholastic by 4,475.7% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,079 shares of the company's stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 4,968 shares during the last quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 199,445 shares of the company's stock worth $7,519,000 after buying an additional 15,416 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 47,456 shares of the company's stock worth $1,789,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,517 shares of the company's stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scholastic Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of SCHL stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $35.23. 144,468 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 261,819. Scholastic Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $45.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.16.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.80). The business had revenue of $323.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.21 million. Scholastic had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 3.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.57) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Scholastic Co. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Scholastic's payout ratio is 55.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Scholastic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd.

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 books, eBooks, media, and interactive products through its school book clubs and fair channels, and trade channel.