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

Key Points

• Shares gapped up after John Wiley & Sons reported quarterly EPS of $0.97 (vs. $0.86 expected) and revenue of $410.04M (vs. $391M), opening at $33.01 vs. the prior close of $30.45, with FY2026 guidance set at 3.900–4.350 EPS.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.355 (annualized $1.42) for a yield of 4.3% and a payout ratio of about 75.5%.
• Market viewpoint is mixed: consensus analyst rating is "Hold", the stock has a market cap of $1.75B and a PE of 17.7, and roughly 73.9% of shares are institutionally owned.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $30.45, but opened at $33.01. John Wiley & Sons shares last traded at $33.44, with a volume of 291,701 shares traded.

The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.11. John Wiley & Sons had a return on equity of 28.23% and a net margin of 6.11%.The company had revenue of $410.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. John Wiley & Sons has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.350 EPS.

John Wiley & Sons Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were given a $0.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 30th. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. John Wiley & Sons's payout ratio is 75.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of John Wiley & Sons to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded John Wiley & Sons from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of John Wiley & Sons in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, John Wiley & Sons has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Wiley & Sons

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 24,305 shares of the company's stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 2,897 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in John Wiley & Sons by 3.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,407 shares of the company's stock worth $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in John Wiley & Sons by 6.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 122,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,456,000 after acquiring an additional 6,928 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in John Wiley & Sons by 14,320.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 158,620 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,068,000 after purchasing an additional 157,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in John Wiley & Sons during the first quarter worth about $65,000. 73.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

John Wiley & Sons Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.86.

About John Wiley & Sons

John Wiley & Sons, Inc is a global publishing and educational services company founded in 1807 and headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey. The company operates through two primary segments: Research & Publishing and Education. Through these segments, Wiley produces a wide range of scholarly journals, books, reference works and digital products for academic, scientific, technical and medical markets, as well as professional development and higher education learning resources.

In its Research & Publishing segment, Wiley publishes thousands of peer-reviewed journals and maintains the Wiley Online Library, a leading platform for scientific and scholarly content.

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