Vestcor Inc Boosts Stake in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Free Report) by 133.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,721 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,700 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Signet Jewelers were worth $1,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SIG. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the second quarter worth about $51,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 917 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 734 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.63, for a total transaction of $332,066.79. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,085 shares in the company, valued at $2,598,848.55. This trade represents a 11.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joan M. Hilson sold 8,000 shares of Signet Jewelers 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 200,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,993,817.08. This trade represents a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,957 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,306. 3.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Signet Jewelers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Signet Jewelers presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.60.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 0.1 %

SIG stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $85.08. 782,202 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 843,073. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.12. 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 $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 2.10. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 1 year low of $72.26 and a 1 year high of $112.06.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.05). Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Signet Jewelers's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.35%.

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.