Scholastic Shareholders Receive Quarterly Dividend Payment

Shareholders of Scholastic are receiving a quarterly cash distribution today. The company is paying a dividend of $0.20 per share. This quarterly payment annualizes to $0.80 per share, representing a dividend yield in the range of 2.6% to 2.9%. Investor attention is now pivoting toward the firm's upcoming earnings release.

Key Details:
* Today's Payout: $0.20 per share.
* Annualized Rate & Yield: $0.80 per share, yielding between 2.6% and 2.9%.
* Q2 2026 Report: Scheduled for release after the market closes on Thursday, December 18.
* Analyst Expectations: Consensus estimates project earnings per share (EPS) of $2.07 on revenue of approximately $556.72 million.

In the sessions leading up to the dividend date, Scholastic's equity exhibited minor price movements. Shares closed at $29.00 on Friday, registering a slight decline of 0.172% on lower-than-average trading volume. This followed a recovery of roughly 5.11% from a pivot low marked on December 9. Earlier in the month, the stock saw an intraday gain of 3.1%, reaching $30.62. That same day, options market activity spiked notably, with 3,818 call options purchased—a surge of 1,736% above the average daily volume.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Scholastic?

Ownership, Analyst Ratings, and Insider Activity

The current consensus rating among market analysts for Scholastic is "Hold," with an average price target of $37.00. B. Riley initiated coverage with a "Buy" rating and a $37.00 target in September. More recently, research firms including Zacks Research and Wall Street Zen have downgraded their stance to "Hold." Institutional investors hold a dominant 82.57% of the company's shares. Over the past year, insider transactions have shown notable buying activity: 18 separate insider purchases totaled $15.0 million, while sales amounted to $953.6 thousand across 100 transactions.

Technical Perspective and Near-Term Outlook

The technical picture presents mixed signals. Short-term and long-term moving averages are providing conflicting indications, with individual "Buy" signals appearing within both time frames. However, the positioning of the longer-term average above the shorter-term one is generally interpreted as an overall "Sell" signal. The recent rebound from the December low points to underlying demand, but the diverging indicators suggest the stock may be entering a consolidation phase.

The immediate direction for the shares is likely to be determined by Thursday's post-market earnings release. Should Scholastic's Q2 results meet or exceed the consensus forecasts of $2.07 EPS and ~$556.72 million in revenue, the recent recovery could find further support. Conversely, significant misses on these metrics would likely place downward pressure on the stock price.