Graham (NYSE:GHC) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Graham (NYSE:GHC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Graham Stock Performance

Shares of GHC traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $763.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 23,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,467. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $729.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $689.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 1.11. Graham has a 1-year low of $551.36 and a 1-year high of $771.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Graham (NYSE:GHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $11.24 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter. Graham had a return on equity of 5.39% and a net margin of 6.12%.

Graham Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 18th will be issued a $1.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Graham’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graham

In other Graham news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.99, for a total transaction of $396,422.44. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,989.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 32.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graham in the fourth quarter valued at about $73,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Graham in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Graham by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 260 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graham by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Graham during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Institutional investors own 62.54% of the company’s stock.

About Graham

Graham Holdings Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified education and media company in the United States and internationally. It provides test preparation services and materials; professional training and exam preparation for professional certifications and licensures; and non-academic operations support services to the Purdue University Global; operations support services for online courses and programs; training and test preparation services for accounting and financial services professionals; English-language training, academic preparation programs, and test preparation for English proficiency exams; and A-level examination preparation services, as well as operates colleges, business school, higher education institution, and an online learning institution.