John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $52.47 and last traded at $52.06, with a volume of 10267 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.57.

John Wiley & Sons Stock Up 5.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.08 and its 200 day moving average is $43.90.

John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.08). John Wiley & Sons had a positive return on equity of 21.59% and a negative net margin of 6.00%. The firm had revenue of $403.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

John Wiley & Sons Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a dividend of $0.352 per share. This represents a $1.41 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. John Wiley & Sons’s dividend payout ratio is currently -70.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Danielle Mcmahan sold 2,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.41, for a total value of $114,532.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,602.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of John Wiley & Sons

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arjuna Capital raised its holdings in John Wiley & Sons by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 55,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,664,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 113.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,726,000 after acquiring an additional 19,017 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 13,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 3,833 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Planning Corp bought a new position in shares of John Wiley & Sons during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $682,000. 73.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About John Wiley & Sons

John Wiley & Sons, Inc operates as a research and education company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Research, Academic, and Talent. The company offers scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, as well as related content and services to learned societies, individual researchers, other professionals, and academic, corporate, and government libraries.