J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.08 Per Share

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.08 per share by the specialty retailer on Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a 14.3% increase from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07.

J.Jill has a dividend payout ratio of 8.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect J.Jill to earn $3.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 8.8%.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of JILL stock opened at $18.66 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.03. J.Jill has a 12-month low of $17.31 and a 12-month high of $40.61. The company has a market cap of $286.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. J.Jill had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 71.30%. The firm had revenue of $94.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.33 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that J.Jill will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.Jill news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of J.Jill stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.57, for a total value of $132,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 132,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,512,686.85. The trade was a 3.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About J.Jill

J.Jill, Inc operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.