J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.17.

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a report on Friday.

J.Jill Stock Down 5.9 %

NYSE JILL traded down $1.39 on Friday, hitting $22.31. 65,390 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 82,120. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.37 and a 200 day moving average of $26.67. J.Jill has a twelve month low of $22.11 and a twelve month high of $40.61. The company has a market capitalization of $342.24 million, a P/E ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 0.69.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 11th. The specialty retailer reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.09. J.Jill had a return on equity of 71.30% and a net margin of 6.80%. As a group, analysts expect that J.Jill will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. J.Jill's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 6,601 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.75, for a total transaction of $189,778.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,652,095. The trade was a 3.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 6,740 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $192,359.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,773,745.52. This represents a 6.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,341 shares of company stock worth $781,538. Insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.Jill

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JILL. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of J.Jill in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in J.Jill by 1,507.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,736 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in J.Jill during the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of J.Jill by 196.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,887 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of J.Jill by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,907 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.71% of the company's stock.

J.Jill Company Profile

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.