Mark Webb Sells 3,745 Shares of J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Stock

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) EVP Mark Webb sold 3,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total transaction of $76,023.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 173,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,512,874.40. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of JILL stock opened at $20.07 on Friday. J.Jill, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.40 and a 52 week high of $20.74. The company has a market capitalization of $300.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.13.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 10th. The specialty retailer reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. J.Jill had a net margin of 3.56% and a return on equity of 24.44%. The firm had revenue of $144.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.30 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that J.Jill, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 24th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 24th. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.Jill

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in J.Jill by 83.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,211 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the 4th quarter worth $150,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,908 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised J.Jill from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on J.Jill from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. William Blair cut shares of J.Jill from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of J.Jill from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.50.

J.Jill Company Profile

J.Jill is a women’s apparel retailer specializing in modern, versatile clothing and accessories. The company designs and markets a range of products that emphasize comfort and style, including knitwear, woven tops, pants, dresses, outerwear, jewelry, and footwear. Through its in-house design team, J.Jill focuses on creating seasonal collections that appeal to women seeking effortless, mix-and-match wardrobes.

Products are sold through a multi-channel distribution network comprising company-operated boutiques, e-commerce platforms, and catalog sales.