Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $58.06, but opened at $59.47. Signet Jewelers shares last traded at $59.16, with a volume of 202,504 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CEO James Kevin Symancyk purchased 15,000 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $57.45 per share, for a total transaction of $861,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 50,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,913,289.50. The trade was a 42.01 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SIG. StockNews.com downgraded Signet Jewelers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Signet Jewelers to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.60.

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Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.39 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.73 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Signet Jewelers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Signet Jewelers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -168.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 52.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,875 shares of the company's stock worth $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 4,747 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $481,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 40,661 shares of the company's stock worth $4,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,065 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,498 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 1.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 97,840 shares of the company's stock worth $10,091,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the period.

About Signet Jewelers

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.