John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) Stock Breaks Below Fifty Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• John Wiley & Sons shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading as low as $49.33 versus the average of $49.99.
• Two research firms downgraded the stock to Hold, matching the consensus rating reported by MarketBeat.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, but revenue declined 2.6% year over year; it also pays an annualized dividend of $1.43, yielding about 2.9%.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY - Get Free Report) shares crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $49.99 and traded as low as $49.33. John Wiley & Sons shares last traded at $49.4930, with a volume of 293,595 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of John Wiley & Sons from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded John Wiley & Sons from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. 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".

John Wiley & Sons Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $49.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.75.

John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. John Wiley & Sons had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 27.99%. The firm had revenue of $386.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $380.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. John Wiley & Sons's quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. John Wiley & Sons has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.600-5.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that John Wiley & Sons, Inc. will post 4.80 EPS for the current year.

John Wiley & Sons Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were given a $0.3575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $1.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. John Wiley & Sons's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Wiley & Sons

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its holdings in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 94.9% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 34,685 shares of the company's stock worth $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 16,889 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in John Wiley & Sons by 66.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 94,647 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,606,000 after purchasing an additional 37,642 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in John Wiley & Sons by 297.8% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 38,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 28,716 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in John Wiley & Sons during the 3rd quarter valued at about $872,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in John Wiley & Sons by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 103,974 shares of the company's stock worth $3,961,000 after purchasing an additional 28,931 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.94% of the company's stock.

About John Wiley & Sons

John Wiley & Sons, known as Wiley, is a global publishing and knowledge-services company. Founded in 1807 by Charles Wiley in New York, it has grown from a book publisher into a provider of research, education and professional-development resources. The company publishes scholarly journals, books and digital content across areas including science, technology, medicine, social sciences and the humanities. Its offerings also include online learning and assessment tools, professional training, and services that support research publishing and scholarly communication.

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