John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of $0.3525

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.'s (NYSE:WLY) investors are due to receive a payment of $0.3525 per share on 24th of October. Based on this payment, the dividend yield for the company will be 2.9%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for John Wiley & Sons

John Wiley & Sons' Distributions May Be Difficult To Sustain

Unless the payments are sustainable, the dividend yield doesn't mean too much. John Wiley & Sons is not generating a profit, but its free cash flows easily cover the dividend, leaving plenty for reinvestment in the business. This gives us some comfort about the level of the dividend payments.

Looking forward, earnings per share could fall by 39.1% over the next year if the trend of the last few years can't be broken. While this means that the company will be unprofitable, we generally believe cash flows are more important, and the current cash payout ratio is quite healthy, which gives us comfort.

John Wiley & Sons Has A Solid Track Record

The company has been paying a dividend for a long time, and it has been quite stable which gives us confidence in the future dividend potential. The dividend has gone from an annual total of $1.00 in 2014 to the most recent total annual payment of $1.41. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 3.5% a year over that time. Dividends have grown relatively slowly, which is not great, but some investors may value the relative consistency of the dividend.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. Let's not jump to conclusions as things might not be as good as they appear on the surface. Over the past five years, it looks as though John Wiley & Sons' EPS has declined at around 39% a year. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective. Even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough.

Our Thoughts On John Wiley & Sons' Dividend

In summary, while it's always good to see the dividend being raised, we don't think John Wiley & Sons' payments are rock solid. The company has been bring in plenty of cash to cover the dividend, but we don't necessarily think that makes it a great dividend stock. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 2 warning signs for John Wiley & Sons that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.