CenterBook Partners LP Sells 96,127 Shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)

CenterBook Partners LP reduced its holdings in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL - Free Report) by 29.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 234,666 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 96,127 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP owned about 1.53% of J.Jill worth $6,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of J.Jill by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 576,031 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $15,910,000 after acquiring an additional 153,568 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in J.Jill by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 178,692 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,935,000 after purchasing an additional 29,640 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of J.Jill by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 144,970 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,005,000 after buying an additional 4,208 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in J.Jill by 186.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 106,856 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,951,000 after buying an additional 69,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in J.Jill by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 106,388 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.Jill has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.20.

J.Jill Stock Up 0.6 %

JILL stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $16.32. 31,348 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 139,779. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $20.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.35. The stock has a market cap of $248.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.32. J.Jill, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.05 and a fifty-two week high of $40.61.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $94.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $142.33 million. J.Jill had a return on equity of 71.30% and a net margin of 6.80%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from J.Jill's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. J.Jill's payout ratio is 12.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.57, for a total value of $132,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 132,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,512,686.85. This represents a 3.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.