J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Short Interest Update

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 378,000 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the November 30th total of 356,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 127,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 5.4% of the company's stock are short sold.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of J.Jill stock traded up $0.96 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.62. 161,419 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 134,609. J.Jill has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $40.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $423.69 million, a P/E ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. J.Jill's payout ratio is presently 9.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.98, for a total transaction of $134,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 151,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,887.76. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. 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 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $192,359.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,773,745.52. The trade was a 6.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,341 shares of company stock worth $517,038 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.Jill in the second quarter worth $81,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of J.Jill by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 13,664 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Privium Fund Management UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,097,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the 2nd quarter valued at about $301,000. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of J.Jill in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,020,000. 40.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JILL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on J.Jill from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of J.Jill from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.17.

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.