Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Scholastic stock recently crossed above its 200-day moving average (200‑day = $31.03), trading as high as $39.14 and last at $38.83, suggesting a bullish technical breakout.
• The board authorized a $200 million share buyback (up to ~23% of shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share (2.1% yield), signaling a stronger focus on shareholder returns.
• Analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $40, while the company posted an EPS beat for the quarter ($-0.15 vs. -$0.37) despite a slight revenue miss.

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $31.03 and traded as high as $39.14. Scholastic shares last traded at $38.83, with a volume of 431,849 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCHL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Scholastic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Scholastic from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Scholastic from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Scholastic from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Scholastic currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.00.

Scholastic Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.03. The stock has a market cap of $844.16 million, a PE ratio of 15.66 and a beta of 1.17.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.22. The company had revenue of $329.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $331.53 million. Scholastic had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 3.88%. Equities research analysts expect that Scholastic Corporation will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Scholastic's dividend payout ratio is 32.26%.

Scholastic announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 23% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Scholastic

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Scholastic by 879.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,159,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,741,000 after buying an additional 1,040,880 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Scholastic in the third quarter worth about $7,288,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Scholastic during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,070,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Scholastic by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 424,973 shares of the company's stock worth $12,592,000 after acquiring an additional 154,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Scholastic by 160.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 157,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,972,000 after purchasing an additional 96,998 shares during the period. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scholastic Company Profile

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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