John Wiley & Sons (WLY) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.Headquartered in Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons (WLY) is a Consumer Staples stock that has seen a price change of -3.69% so far this year. The publisher is paying out a dividend of $0.70 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 4.81% compared to the Publishing - Books industry's yield of 4.3% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.41%.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, with earnings expected to increase 9.89% from the year ago period.Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. However, not all companies offer 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 must be conscious 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).Zacks' Research Chief Picks Stock Most Likely to "At Least Double"Our experts have revealed their Top 5 recommendations with money-doubling potential – and Director of Research Sheraz Mian believes one is superior to the others. Of course, all our picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier recommendations like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.See Our Top Stock to Double (Plus 4 Runners Up) >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks