John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) Trading Up 6.4% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY) shares shot up 6.4% on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $46.57 and last traded at $46.51. 345,269 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 7% from the average session volume of 324,058 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.70.

The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.39. John Wiley & Sons had a negative net margin of 2.82% and a positive return on equity of 24.14%. The business had revenue of $404.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $401.10 million.

John Wiley & Sons Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $0.3525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This is a boost from John Wiley & Sons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.41 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. John Wiley & Sons’s dividend payout ratio is currently -154.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in John Wiley & Sons by 113.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after buying an additional 19,017 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 40.1% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 407,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,273,000 after purchasing an additional 116,772 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in John Wiley & Sons during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,134,000. Atom Investors LP grew its position in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 178.6% in the 3rd quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 61,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,951,000 after buying an additional 39,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Planning Corp purchased a new stake in John Wiley & Sons in the third quarter worth $682,000. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of -51.09 and a beta of 0.82.

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.