Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 904,500 shares, a growth of 31.7% from the December 15th total of 687,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 268,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Scholastic by 3.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in Scholastic by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Scholastic by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Scholastic in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 82.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 5th.

Scholastic Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SCHL traded down $0.18 on Friday, reaching $20.00. 192,088 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 348,713. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Scholastic has a twelve month low of $18.57 and a twelve month high of $40.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.67 and a 200-day moving average of $27.87. The company has a market capitalization of $562 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -111.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.48). Scholastic had a positive return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 0.27%. On average, research analysts predict that Scholastic will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -444.42%.

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 print, digital, and audio books, as well as media and interactive products through its school reading events and trade channel; and operation of school-based book clubs and book fairs in the United States.