John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $37.03, but opened at $40.80. John Wiley & Sons shares last traded at $39.73, with a volume of 104,426 shares trading hands.

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 positive return on equity of 24.14% and a negative net margin of 2.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS.

John Wiley & Sons Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th were paid a $0.3525 dividend. This represents a $1.41 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 8th. John Wiley & Sons’s dividend payout ratio is presently 190.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLY. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in John Wiley & Sons during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in 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 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of John Wiley & Sons in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 73.94% of the company’s stock.

John Wiley & Sons Stock Performance

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 cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of -44.92 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.67.

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.