John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) Shares Down 4.5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Wiley beat quarterly estimates, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.44 versus the $0.40 consensus and revenue of $386.36 million versus $380.20 million. Management reaffirmed fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $4.60–$5.05.
• Despite the adjusted earnings beat, underlying results weakened: revenue declined about 3% year over year, operating income fell to $3 million from $31 million, and the company posted a GAAP loss of $0.23 per share.
• Shares fell 4.5% amid the mixed results, while analysts maintained a “Moderate Buy” consensus. Wiley also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3575, implying an annualized yield of roughly 3%.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY - Get Free Report) dropped 4.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $49.03 and last traded at $48.36. 116,787 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 512,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.66.

Key Headlines Impacting John Wiley & Sons

Here are the key news stories impacting John Wiley & Sons this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wiley reported adjusted quarterly EPS of $0.44, exceeding the $0.40 analyst consensus, while revenue of $386.36 million also surpassed estimates of $380.20 million. John Wiley & Sons Beats Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management reaffirmed its full-year outlook, including fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $4.60 to $5.05. The midpoint of the range is slightly above the current $4.80 consensus estimate, supporting the view that the quarter did not materially derail the company’s expectations. Wiley Reports First Quarter 2027 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported adjusted earnings beat was partly offset by restructuring charges. Wiley posted a GAAP diluted loss of $0.23 per share, compared with a $0.22 profit a year earlier, while operating income declined to $3 million from $31 million. Wiley First Quarter Results
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue fell approximately 3% year over year, and adjusted EPS declined from $0.49 to $0.44. The combination of declining sales, lower operating income and the headline GAAP loss likely explains why the stock has weakened despite the estimate beats.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WLY shares. Zacks Research cut shares of John Wiley & Sons from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded John Wiley & Sons from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

John Wiley & Sons Stock Down 6.3%

The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50 day moving average is $51.54 and its 200-day moving average is $43.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.54.

John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $386.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $380.20 million. John Wiley & Sons had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 29.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. John Wiley & Sons has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.600-5.050 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that John Wiley & Sons, Inc. will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

John Wiley & Sons Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 7th were paid a $0.3575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 7th. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from John Wiley & Sons's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. John Wiley & Sons's dividend payout ratio is 33.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Wiley & Sons

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 5.7% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 5,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,321 shares of the company's stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,203 shares of the company's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 16.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the company's stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in John Wiley & Sons by 519.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 564 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. 73.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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