May was a quiet month for both the stock market and the Publishers Weekly Stock Index. The Dow rose 1% in the month, while the PWSI slipped 0.5%. Six of the 11 companies listed on the PWSI saw increases in their share prices in the month, and four saw declines. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s share price held even at $6.80. The biggest price movement in May was at LSC Communications, whose stock price dropped 25.6%. The printer’s first-quarter financial results released in the month were a huge disappointment. LSC had a loss of 32¢ per share in the quarter and even when the loss was adjusted for one-time costs, the loss came to 11¢ per share. Analysts had been looking for earnings of 17¢ per share. Educational Development Corp. reported an 82% increase in earnings in the fiscal year ended Feb. 28, 2018, over fiscal 2017, but analysts were concerned that the fourth quarter appeared a little soft, resulting in the stock price falling 7% for the month.
| Company | April 30 | May 31 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scholastic | 41.40 | 44.99 | 8.7% |
| Barnes & Noble | 5.55 | 5.85 | 5.4% |
| Pearson | 11.42 | 11.98 | 4.9% |
| John Wiley | 65.95 | 67.80 | 2.8% |
| CBS | 49.20 | 50.37 | 2.3% |
| IDW Holdings | 44.84 | 44.89 | 0.1% |
| Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 6.80 | 6.80 | 0 |
| News Corp | 15.98 | 15.03 | -5.9% |
| Educational Dev. Corp. | 24.30 | 22.60 | -7.0% |
| B&N Education | 7.19 | 6.34 | -11.8% |
| LSC Communications | 17.48 | 12.66 | -25.6% |
| Publishers Weekly Stock Index | 290.91 | 289.31 | -0.5% |
| Dow Jones Avg. | 24,163.15 | 24,415.84 | 1.0% |
