Short Interest in John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY) Increases By 40,920.4%

Key Points

• John Wiley & Sons experienced a massive increase in short interest, rising 40,920.4% in July, with a total of 2,010,000 shares short sold as of July 15th.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.355 per share, reflecting a slight increase from the previous dividend, representing a 3.7% yield.
• Analysts raised the company’s rating from "buy" to "strong-buy", indicating increased confidence in the stock moving forward.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,010,000 shares, agrowthof40,920.4% from the June 30th total of 4,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 514,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Approximately4.8% of the company's shares are sold short. Approximately4.8% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 514,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of John Wiley & Sons during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,880,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of John Wiley & Sons during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,916,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of John Wiley & Sons during the first quarter valued at approximately $10,755,000. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in John Wiley & Sons by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC now owns 347,047 shares of the company's stock worth $15,169,000 after purchasing an additional 219,349 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in John Wiley & Sons by 169.8% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 277,052 shares of the company's stock worth $12,345,000 after purchasing an additional 174,367 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.94% of the company's stock.

John Wiley & Sons Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of WLY traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $38.72. The company had a trading volume of 42,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 473,104. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $40.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. John Wiley & Sons has a 1-year low of $36.50 and a 1-year high of $53.96. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 0.96.

John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 17th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.10. John Wiley & Sons had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 27.42%. The business had revenue of $442.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $435.00 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that John Wiley & Sons will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

John Wiley & Sons declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, June 26th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

John Wiley & Sons Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were issued a $0.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. This is a positive change from John Wiley & Sons's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. John Wiley & Sons's payout ratio is 92.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of John Wiley & Sons from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st.

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.