Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Free Report) by 15.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 210,158 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,316 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Signet Jewelers worth $21,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SIG. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Signet Jewelers during the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 177.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the company's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 1.5 %

SIG traded up $1.25 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $82.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,001,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 858,143. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $92.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.41. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 2.10. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 52 week low of $72.26 and a 52 week high of $112.06.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. The company's revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Signet Jewelers's payout ratio is 13.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SIG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Signet Jewelers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Signet Jewelers

In related news, insider Joan M. Hilson sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.57, for a total transaction of $756,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 200,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,993,817.08. The trade was a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.63, for a total value of $332,066.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,598,848.55. This represents a 11.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,568 shares of company stock worth $1,705,653. Insiders own 3.26% of the company's stock.

Signet Jewelers Company 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.