Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) to Issue $0.29 Quarterly Dividend

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 6th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.29 per share on Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th.

Signet Jewelers has increased its dividend by an average of 34.0% annually over the last three years. Signet Jewelers has a dividend payout ratio of 10.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Signet Jewelers to earn $11.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 10.1%.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 5.6 %

NYSE SIG traded up $4.86 on Friday, reaching $91.80. The company had a trading volume of 2,128,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 839,434. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 2.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $97.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.59. Signet Jewelers has a 12 month low of $72.26 and a 12 month high of $112.06.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.05). Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Signet Jewelers will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Signet Jewelers from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Signet Jewelers currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mary Elizabeth Finn sold 3,763 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $347,400.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,058 shares in the company, valued at $3,975,114.56. This represents a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Virginia Drosos sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.25, for a total value of $60,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 728,220 shares in the company, valued at $73,732,275. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,957 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,306 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.

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