John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyWall Street Zen upgraded shares of John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY – Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.
Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of John Wiley & Sons in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.
Read Our Latest Analysis on WLY
John Wiley & Sons Stock Down 2.7%
WLY stock opened at $30.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46 and a beta of 1.03. John Wiley & Sons has a 52 week low of $29.93 and a 52 week high of $47.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.95 and a 200 day moving average of $38.89.
John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. John Wiley & Sons had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 28.23%. The business had revenue of $421.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. John Wiley & Sons has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that John Wiley & Sons will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.
John Wiley & Sons Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 7th were issued a dividend of $0.355 per share. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 7th. John Wiley & Sons’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.53%.
John Wiley & Sons declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 25th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Wiley & Sons
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in John Wiley & Sons by 519.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 564 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in John Wiley & Sons in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of John Wiley & Sons during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of John Wiley & Sons during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 1,595.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the period. 73.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
John Wiley & Sons Company Profile
John Wiley & Sons, Inc engages in the provision of research and learning materials. It operates through the following segments: Research, Learning, and Held for Sale or Sold. The Research segment consists of research publishing and research solutions. The Learning segment includes academic and professional reporting lines and consists of publishing and related knowledge solutions.