Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on SIG. UBS Group cut 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Signet Jewelers presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.60.

Signet Jewelers Price Performance

Signet Jewelers stock traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $97.66. 662,122 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 811,236. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 2.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.57. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 29.90%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rebecca Wooters sold 22,151 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $2,192,949.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 68,343 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,765,957. This represents a 24.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mary Elizabeth Finn sold 3,763 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $347,400.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,975,114.56. This trade represents a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,957 shares of company stock worth $5,239,306. Company insiders own 3.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Signet Jewelers

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Signet Jewelers by 4.9% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Signet Jewelers by 6.8% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 15.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 917 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 1.4% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 10,405 shares of the company's stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 33.4% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 699 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter.

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.