Investors in John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) have seen returns of 21% over the past year
These days it's easy to simply buy an index fund, and your returns should (roughly) match the market. But one can do better than that by picking better than average stocks (as part of a diversified portfolio). To wit, the John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY) share price is 17% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market return of around 10% (not including dividends) in the same period. That's a solid performance by our standards! In contrast, the longer term returns are negative, since the share price is 11% lower than it was three years ago.
Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.
Our free stock report includes 3 warning signs investors should be aware of before investing in John Wiley & Sons. Read for free now.
To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
During the last year John Wiley & Sons grew its earnings per share, moving from a loss to a profit.
When a company has just transitioned to profitability, earnings per share growth is not always the best way to look at the share price action.
John Wiley & Sons' revenue actually dropped 12% over last year. So using a snapshot of key business metrics doesn't give us a good picture of why the market is bidding up the stock.
The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
We know that John Wiley & Sons has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? If you are thinking of buying or selling John Wiley & Sons stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.
When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of John Wiley & Sons, it has a TSR of 21% for the last 1 year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!
We're pleased to report that John Wiley & Sons shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 21% over one year. And that does include the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 6% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for John Wiley & Sons that you should be aware of.
But note: John Wiley & Sons may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2 Stocks Down 23% and 26% to Buy Right Now
If investors can see past the downturn in energy prices, Chevron stock is a great opportunity. Exponential AI demand growth is driving this company's end-market growth. 10 stocks we like better than Chevron › With the first half of 2025 nearly over, many investors are taking time to reevaluate their portfolios and take advantage of quality stocks that can be bought at a discount. It certainly requires some confidence to buy shares of a company when they're down, but it's opportunities like these that offer the potential for outsize returns. Two contributors, for example, recognize that oil supermajor Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and data center equipment provider Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) are two worthy considerations for investors to click the buy buttons on right now since they're stocks are trading down 23% and 26%, respectively, from recent all-time highs. (Chevron): While the 23% decline in Chevron stock from its all-time high in January 2023 may be disconcerting, the truth is that the stock's fall isn't wholly unexpected. There's a strong correlation between the movements of energy prices and those of energy stocks, so when investors pair Chevron stock's plunge with the 22% dip in the price of oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate during the same time period, the performance in Chevron's stock becomes much more understandable. Whether you're on the prowl for a reliable dividend stock or a steady energy stock or something in between, Chevron fits the bill. For 38 consecutive years, the company has hiked its dividend -- a notable achievement for any company but especially one whose business revolves around commodities along with their cyclical prices. Lest investors fear that the company is sacrificing its financial health to placate shareholders, a peek at Chevron's average payout ratio over the past five years should allay their concerns: It's a conservative 68.4%. Unlike some companies that solely focus on exploration and production, or those with midstream businesses, or downstream operations, Chevron operates throughout the energy value chain. This provides it with the ability to benefit from greater efficiencies than companies with more concentrated operations, as well as mitigating the risks associated with a slowing in the business of any one link in the energy value chain. For those looking to put some pep in their passive income streams, now seems like a great time to gas up on Chevron stock. Lee Samaha (Vertiv): Data center equipment provider and Nvidia partner Vertiv's stock trades down about 26% from its all-time high. It has recovered significantly recently, but despite a strong run, it's still an overall dip worth buying into. That reasoning relies on assuming that we are in the early innings of investment in artificial intelligence (AI) applications and the data centers necessary to support AI growth. As recently discussed, there are no signs of a slowdown in data center spending, and that bodes well for the near-term outlook. Thinking more medium-term, Vertiv's data center power systems are set to play a key role in the new generation of data centers that Nvidia is building toward. Nvidia believes the new 800-volt (V) high voltage direct current (HVDC) data centers (set to be launched in 2027) can improve efficiency by 5%, reduce copper usage, and lower maintenance costs by 70%, and also lower cooling costs. The good news is that Vertiv plans to have its 800-V HVDC power systems ready by the second half of 2026, in time for deployment with Nvidia's key platform rollouts in 2027. That should drive the next cycle of orders at Vertiv, and as long as AI demand continues to explode, it's likely that Vertiv's total addressable market for its power systems, thermal management, and data center infrastructure will also grow strongly. While semiconductor stocks often get the lion's share of attention regarding AI, Vertiv is a great consideration for investors looking to gain AI exposure -- especially with 2026 shaping up to an auspicious year of developments for the company. On the other hand, income investors who have the patience to wait out a downturn in energy prices have a great opportunity to power up their passive income streams right now with Chevron stock. Before you buy stock in Chevron, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Chevron wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $655,255!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $888,780!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 999% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 174% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chevron and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2 Stocks Down 23% and 26% to Buy Right Now was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Be Wary Of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) And Its Returns On Capital
There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. Although, when we looked at Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes. This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Phillips 66, this is the formula: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) 0.02 = US$1.1b ÷ (US$72b - US$15b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2025). Thus, Phillips 66 has an ROCE of 2.0%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Oil and Gas industry average of 9.8%. See our latest analysis for Phillips 66 Above you can see how the current ROCE for Phillips 66 compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Phillips 66 for free. In terms of Phillips 66's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 8.5%, but since then they've fallen to 2.0%. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments. Bringing it all together, while we're somewhat encouraged by Phillips 66's reinvestment in its own business, we're aware that returns are shrinking. Yet to long term shareholders the stock has gifted them an incredible 101% return in the last five years, so the market appears to be rosy about its future. But if the trajectory of these underlying trends continue, we think the likelihood of it being a multi-bagger from here isn't high. Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Phillips 66 (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you should know about. While Phillips 66 isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) 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. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Investors in Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) have seen decent returns of 95% over the past five years
The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But in our experience, buying the right stocks can give your wealth a significant boost. For example, the Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) share price is up 90% in the last five years, slightly above the market return. In stark contrast, the stock price has actually fallen 7.3% in the last year. With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies. AI is about to change healthcare. These 20 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10bn in marketcap - there is still time to get in early. To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. During five years of share price growth, Old Dominion Freight Line achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 16% per year. So the EPS growth rate is rather close to the annualized share price gain of 14% per year. This indicates that investor sentiment towards the company has not changed a great deal. Indeed, it would appear the share price is reacting to the EPS. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Old Dominion Freight Line's earnings, revenue and cash flow. When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Old Dominion Freight Line's TSR for the last 5 years was 95%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return. While the broader market gained around 12% in the last year, Old Dominion Freight Line shareholders lost 6.7% (even including dividends). Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 14% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. Investors who like to make money usually check up on insider purchases, such as the price paid, and total amount bought. You can find out about the insider purchases of Old Dominion Freight Line by clicking this link. There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) 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.
