With the Dow Jones Industrial Average almost flat in August, the Publishers Weekly Stock Index fell 1.7% during the month. Only one company on the PWSI, Educational Development Corp., had an increase in its share price. The largest drop came at the printing company LSC, whose stock price fell 24.6%. The company’s second-quarter profits, released August 3, did not meet analysts’ expectations, and the stock price fell about 9% the day the results were announced. Shares of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt fell 14.6% following a mixed second-quarter financial report released early in August. Barnes & Noble’s stock price declined 4.9% in the month, despite rallying on August 31 on reports that the bookseller was looking for a buyer—a report B&N denied. At the end of July, an investor group took a small stake in the company, saying it would urge B&N to go private or find a buyer. That report helped drive B&N’s share price up 7.2% in July to $8.15. B&N’s stock price had drifted downward from the beginning of August to the release of the August 31 report.
| Company | July. 31 | Aug. 31 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Educational Dev. Corp. | 10.40 | 10.55 | 1.4% |
| Amazon | 987.78 | 980.60 | -0.7% |
| John Wiley | 55.25 | 53.95 | -2.3% |
| CBS | 65.83 | 64.06 | -2.7% |
| Scholastic | 41.43 | 39.43 | -4.8% |
| Barnes & Noble | 8.15 | 7.75 | -4.9% |
| New Corp | 14.70 | 13.70 | -6.8% |
| Pearson | 8.60 | 7.80 | -9.3% |
| Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 11.95 | 10.20 | -14.6% |
| LSC | 21.38/td> | 16.11 | -24.6% |
| Publishers Weekly Stock Index | 1,225.47 | 1,204.15 | -1.7% |
| Dow Jones Ave. | 21,891.12 | 21,948.10 | 0.2% |
Source: Publishers Weekly
