HAP Trading LLC Invests $1.28 Million in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

HAP Trading LLC purchased a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,279,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Signet Jewelers in the third quarter worth approximately $225,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the third quarter valued at $210,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Signet Jewelers by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,122 shares of the company's stock worth $3,330,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 310,852 shares of the company's stock worth $32,061,000 after buying an additional 3,238 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 132,070 shares of the company's stock worth $10,704,000 after buying an additional 35,174 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SIG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Cfra Research raised Signet Jewelers to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.60.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

Shares of Signet Jewelers stock traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.80. The company had a trading volume of 907,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,148,606. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 1-year low of $45.55 and a 1-year high of $112.06. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $54.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.69. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 6.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.63.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.39 by $0.23. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.73 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Signet Jewelers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Signet Jewelers's dividend payout ratio is -168.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Kevin Symancyk bought 15,000 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $57.45 per share, for a total transaction of $861,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 50,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,913,289.50. This trade represents a 42.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total transaction of $180,415.29. Following the sale, the director now owns 22,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.26% of the company's stock.

Signet Jewelers Profile

Signet Jewelers Limited operates as a diamond jewelry retailer. It operates through three segments: North America, International, and Other. The North America segment operates jewelry stores in jewelry stores in malls, mall-based kiosks, and off-mall locations in the United States and Canada primarily under the Kay Jewelers, Kay Jewelers Outlet, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, Jared Vault, Zales Outlet, Zales Jewelers, Diamonds Direct, James Allen, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, and Peoples Jewellers names, as well as operates online through its digital banners, James Allen and Blue Nile.