Azarias Capital Management L.P. Purchases 195,507 Shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Azarias Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 71.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 467,783 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 195,507 shares during the period. Scholastic makes up 4.5% of Azarias Capital Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Azarias Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Scholastic were worth $9,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Scholastic by 3.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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 period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Scholastic by 125.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Scholastic in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

Scholastic Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of SCHL stock opened at $19.76 on Thursday. Scholastic Co. has a 12-month low of $17.72 and a 12-month high of $40.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.34 and a 200-day moving average of $25.95.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last released its 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, analysts predict that Scholastic Co. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Scholastic’s payout ratio is -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.