Although only one of the 12 companies on the Publishers Weekly Stock Index saw an increase in its stock price in August, the PWSI managed to post a smaller loss than the Dow Jones Industrial Average. In the month, the PWSI fell 3.6%, while the Dow dropped 6.6%. The one winner in August was Educational Development Corp., which posted a 23.5% gain, as the company reported strong July sales driven by a big increase in the number of sales reps. Early in August, Barnes & Noble’s stock split and shareholders received 0.632 shares of B&NE stock for each share of B&N they owned. The share price of both B&N and B&N Education fell in the month, although the decline for both was slightly less than the drop for the Dow.
| Winners | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Jul. 31 | Aug. 31 | % Change |
| Educational Dev. Corp. | 4.90 | 6.05 | 23.5% |
| Losers | |||
| CBS | 53.47 | 45.24 | -15.4 |
| Houghton Mifflin | 26.13 | 22.58 | -13.6 |
| Chegg | 8.31 | 7.43 | -10.6 |
| R.R. Donnelley | 17.55 | 15.70 | -10.5 |
| Pearson | 18.66 | 17.40 | -6.7 |
| Barnes & Noble | 26.29 | 15.61 | -6.2 |
| Barnes & Noble Ed. | 13.61 | 12.90 | -5.2 |
| Publishers Weekly Stock Index | 806.10 | 767.58 | -3.6 |
| Dow Jones Aver. | 17,689.86 | 16,528.03 | -6.6 |
Source: Publishers Weekly
