Why John Wiley & Sons (wly) Is A Great Dividend Stock Right Now

Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on dividends. A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders; it's often viewed by its dividend yield, a metric that measures a dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

Based in Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) is in the Consumer Staples sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -5.09%. The publisher is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.35 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.88%. This compares to the Publishing - Books industry's yield of 4.42% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.36%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.42 is up 0.7% from last year. Over the last 5 years, John Wiley & Sons has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 0.69%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. John Wiley & Sons's current payout ratio is 37%, meaning it paid out 37% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

WLY is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $4.00 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 9.89%.

Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide a quarterly payout.

For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers its shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, WLY is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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