Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG)

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 4,798 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 51% compared to the average volume of 3,174 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Signet Jewelers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.60.

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Insider Transactions at Signet Jewelers

In other Signet Jewelers news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $180,415.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,752 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.26% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Signet Jewelers by 149.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 832.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

Shares of Signet Jewelers stock traded up $2.16 on Friday, reaching $58.46. 5,993,726 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,063,586. Signet Jewelers has a twelve month low of $45.55 and a twelve month high of $112.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.29. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.73, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20.

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

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Signet Jewelers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Signet Jewelers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -168.42%.

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.