Photo by Robert Anasch on Unsplash
 

John Wiley & Sons Inc, ticker WLY, is a mid-cap publishing company in the communication services business sector. It is, as I said, the fifth of five communication services candidates vying to be the second selected for my Viking folio. This is not my first report on WLY. I have discussed it previously but have yet to select it for one of my portfolios.

John Wiley & Sons is one of the foremost global providers of academic journals, books, pre-, and post-hire assessments and training, test preparation materials, and online education program management solutions.

Wiley derived more than 80% of its total fiscal 2022 revenue from digital products and tech-enabled services, with just over half of the total top line coming from its research publishing and platforms segment, 31% from its academic and professional learning effort, and 16% from its education services unit.

Around half of the revenue recorded in fiscal 2022 was derived from customers in the United States. The company has a dual-class share ownership structure, with Wiley family members controlling about 60% of the voting power of the firm’s equity.

The company was founded in 1807 and is headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Three key data points gauge John Wiley & Sons Inc:

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

Those three basic keys best tell whether any company has made, is making, and will make money.
 

WLY Price

Wiley’s price per share was $38.52 at Thursday’s market close. In the past year, WLY’s share price fell by $13.68, or about 26%.

If Wiley’s stock trades in the range of $32.00 to $56.00 this next year, its recent $38.52 share price might reach $46.00 by next year. My upside increase estimate of $7.48 is $10.00 under the average price upside forecast by 2 analysts tracking the stock in their brokerages.
 

WLY Dividends

Wiley’s most recently declared quarterly dividend of $0.3475 per share equals $1.39 annually and casts a yield of 3.61%.
 

WLY Returns

Adding the $1.39 annual John Wiley & Sons Inc dividend to my one-year price upside estimate of $7.48 shows an $8.87 potential gross gain per share.

At Thursday’s $38.52 closing price, a little over $1000 would buy 26 shares.

A $10 broker fee (if charged), paid half at purchase and a half at the sale, might cost us $0.38 per share.

Subtracting that maybe $0.38 brokerage cost from my estimated $8.87 gross gain per share results in a net gain of $8.49 X 26 shares = $220.96 for a 22% net gain including a 3.61% annual yield.

In a year our $1K investment in shares of John Wiley & Sons Inc could generate $36.10 in cash dividends. Of course, a single share of WLY stock at today's $38.52 price is $2.42 more than the annual dividend income from our $1000.00 investment.

So, by my dogcatcher ideal, this is NOT a good time to buy WLY shares based on their dividends for the year 2022. The dividend from the $1K invested is $2.42 less than yesterday’s single share price. Consider yourself alerted. Now is NOT the time.  Wait for WLY stock price to drop below  $37.30

All of the estimates above are speculation based on the past history of John Wiley & Sons Inc. Only time and money invested in this stock will determine its market value.

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