October was a bad month for both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Publishers Weekly Stock Index, with the Dow down 5.0% and the PWSI falling 8.2%. Stock prices at only two of the 11 companies on the PWSI rose in October. Barnes & Noble’s share price increased 9.1% following the announcement that the retailer would consider a buyout offer. Educational Development Corp.’s shares rose 7.0%. The company reported a strong increase in quarterly earnings despite only a 2% gain in sales over the quarter a year ago. The price of LSC Communications stock fell 12.0% , despite the company’s agreement to be acquired. After news of the deal broke on the last day of the month, LSC’s stock price jumped 11.0% to close at $9.43.
| Company | Sept.28. | Oct. 31 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnes & Noble | 5.80 | 6.33 | 9.1% |
| Educational Dev. Corp. | 11.45 | 12.25 | 7.0% |
| CBS | 57.45 | 57.35 | -0.2% |
| B&N Education | 5.76 | 5.71 | -0.9% |
| Pearson | 11.52 | 11.40 | -1.0% |
| News Corp | 13.60 | 13.34 | -1.9% |
| Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 7.00 | 6.70 | -4.3% |
| Scholastic | 46.69 | 43.38 | -7.0% |
| John Wiley | 60.60 | 54.24 | -10.5% |
| LSC Communications | 11.06 | 9.43 | -12.0% |
| IDW Media | 37.19 | 25.99 | -30.1% |
| Publishers Weekly Stock Index | 268.12 | 246.12 | -8.2% |
| Dow Jones Aver. | 26,439.93 | 25,115.75 | -5.0% |
Source: Publishers Weekly
