John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $37.91, but opened at $42.52. John Wiley & Sons shares last traded at $41.45, with a volume of 67,259 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.39. John Wiley & Sons had a negative net margin of 2.82% and a positive return on equity of 24.14%. The company had revenue of $404.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $401.10 million.

John Wiley & Sons Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $0.3525 per share. This represents a $1.41 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from John Wiley & Sons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. John Wiley & Sons’s dividend payout ratio is presently -154.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLY. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 686.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of John Wiley & Sons in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in John Wiley & Sons during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in John Wiley & Sons during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 73.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

John Wiley & Sons Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.53 and a 200-day moving average of $45.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of -48.14 and a beta of 0.82.

About John Wiley & Sons

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.