Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) Short Interest Up 60.4% in April

Key Points

• Short interest rose 60.4% in April to 3,066,795 shares, roughly 15.5% of the company’s shares shorted and a days-to-cover ratio of 4.3.
• The board authorized a $200 million share repurchase program (up to ~23% of shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 (2.0% yield).
• Scholastic topped EPS estimates in the most recent quarter (‑$0.15 vs. ‑$0.37 expected) and the stock trades near the analysts' consensus price target of $40.00 (opened at $40.34).

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,066,795 shares, an increase of 60.4% from the March 31st total of 1,911,756 shares. Approximately 15.5% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 721,311 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCHL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Scholastic from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on shares of Scholastic from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Scholastic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Scholastic from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Scholastic by 458.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,159 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,593 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Scholastic by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,289 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $116,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the third quarter worth approximately $137,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Scholastic by 127.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,197 shares of the company's stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the period. 82.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scholastic Stock Performance

Shares of Scholastic stock opened at $40.34 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $876.99 million, a PE ratio of 16.27 and a beta of 1.08. Scholastic has a 52-week low of $16.78 and a 52-week high of $43.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.67.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.22. The business had revenue of $329.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $331.53 million. Scholastic had a net margin of 3.88% and a return on equity of 2.47%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Scholastic will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Scholastic's payout ratio is 32.26%.

Scholastic declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 23% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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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