John Wiley & Sons

Zacks Investment Research recommends four consumer staples stocks as a defensive play amid declining consumer confidence and market volatility. Consumer confidence fell to 90.8 in July from an upwardly revised 92.2 a month earlier, according to the Conference Board, missing the consensus estimate of 92.3. The Present Situation Index declined 3.6 points to 114.9, marking its third straight monthly drop, while the Expectations Index held at 74.7. The recommended stocks are The Vita Coco Company, The Coca-Cola Company, John Wiley & Sons, and Carriage Services, all of which have seen positive earnings estimate revisions over the past 90 days.

Wiley has joined the Genesis Mission Consortium, a public-private partnership supporting the U.S. Department of Energy's Genesis Mission, becoming the only scientific publisher among members that include Nvidia, AWS, Microsoft, IBM, and AMD. The Genesis Mission aims to build the American Science and Security Platform, an AI-driven infrastructure to accelerate scientific discovery. Wiley plans to provide its research intelligence tools to all DOE national laboratories and contribute its editorial networks, domain expertise, and evidence-linked scientific content to support provenance and reproducibility. The company will also participate in working groups focused on AI model validation against scientific evidence and scientific data management, helping shape the consortium's foundational knowledge layer.

Consumer confidence saw a marginal improvement in June but remains near historic lows, prompting a recommendation for defensive consumer staples stocks. The consumer confidence index rose to 91.2 from a downwardly revised 90.6, while the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index increased to a final reading of 49.5 from 44.8. The uptick follows a temporary halt in U.S.-Iran hostilities that eased oil prices, though inflation and labor market concerns persist. Private sector payrolls added 98,000 jobs in June, below estimates, and markets are pricing in a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate hike by year-end. Zacks Investment Research highlights John Wiley & Sons, Tyson Foods, Arko Corp., and The New York Times Company as low-beta picks with positive earnings estimate revisions and Zacks Ranks of 1 or 2.

John Wiley & Sons, AZZ, and Matson have announced dividend increases, offering potential havens for investors as market volatility returns. John Wiley & Sons declared a dividend of $0.36 per share payable on August 23, with a yield of 2.95% and a payout ratio of 34%. AZZ declared a dividend of $0.25 per share payable on August 30, yielding 0.51% with a payout ratio of 13%. Matson declared a dividend of $0.38 per share payable on September 3, yielding 0.74% with a payout ratio of 11%. The hikes come amid rising inflation and fears of a Federal Reserve rate hike, with the PCE price index jumping 4.1% year-over-year in May.

John Wiley & Sons announced a quarterly cash dividend of US$0.3575 per share, marking its 33rd consecutive annual increase, and reported full-year net income of US$221.62 million on sales of US$1,676.53 million for the period ended April 30, 2026. The dividend is payable on July 23, 2026, while fourth-quarter sales came in at US$447.94 million. Earnings per share from continuing operations rose despite essentially flat full-year sales, signaling improved profitability alongside the long-running dividend growth streak. The company’s narrative projects revenue of US$1.9 billion and earnings of US$224.2 million by 2029, implying 4.7% annual revenue growth and a modest earnings increase from current levels. Simply Wall St community fair-value estimates range from US$68.00 to about US$136.54, highlighting divergent views on the stock.

John Wiley & Sons offers a 3.21% dividend yield backed by a 38% free cash flow payout ratio and 32 consecutive years of increases, making it a safe income choice for retirees. The company paid $74.358 million in dividends against $195.341 million in free cash flow in fiscal 2026, with operating cash flow covering the dividend 3.5 times. Even during a $200.3 million net loss in fiscal 2024, Wiley fully funded its dividend from operating cash flow. CEO Matthew Kissner guided fiscal 2027 free cash flow to $205 million, nearly triple the amount needed to cover dividends, while the recent $452 million Emerald Publishing acquisition pushed pro forma leverage to a manageable 2.1 times. The dividend growth rate has decelerated to roughly 1% annually as management prioritizes buybacks, with $100.082 million spent on repurchases in fiscal 2026.