J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.33.

JILL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of J.Jill from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of J.Jill from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.Jill

In other J.Jill news, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 1,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.10, for a total value of $36,530.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 105,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,535.20. This represents a 1.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 6.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.Jill

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 480,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $16,788,000 after purchasing an additional 31,400 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 422,463 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,422,000 after acquiring an additional 119,282 shares during the period. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY boosted its position in shares of J.Jill by 109.3% in the second quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 346,856 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,130,000 after acquiring an additional 181,116 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in J.Jill by 539.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 304,273 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,640,000 after purchasing an additional 256,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Divisadero Street Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of J.Jill in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Price Performance

J.Jill stock opened at $24.41 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.70. J.Jill has a 12 month low of $23.06 and a 12 month high of $40.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.10 million, a PE ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 0.61.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.11. J.Jill had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 90.61%. The firm had revenue of $155.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $155.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that J.Jill will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. J.Jill’s payout ratio is currently 9.89%.

About J.Jill

J.Jill, Inc operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.