J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.50.

JILL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on J.Jill from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $14.00 price target (up from $13.00) on shares of J.Jill in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th.

Insider Activity at J.Jill

In other J.Jill news, EVP Mark W. Webb sold 2,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total value of $42,164.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 174,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,551,224.07. This represents a 1.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,158 shares of company stock worth $225,984. 4.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.Jill

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JILL. Fund 1 Investments LLC increased its stake in J.Jill by 96.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 1,328,949 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $21,090,000 after acquiring an additional 653,645 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,503,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of J.Jill by 931.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 147,892 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 133,558 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY boosted its position in shares of J.Jill by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 1,057,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,479,000 after acquiring an additional 125,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,303,493 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $17,884,000 after purchasing an additional 99,390 shares in the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

J.Jill Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:JILL opened at $19.65 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.77 million, a P/E ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.60. J.Jill has a one year low of $10.40 and a one year high of $20.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.30.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 10th. The specialty retailer reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.30 million. As a group, analysts forecast that J.Jill will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 24th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 24th. J.Jill’s payout ratio is presently 26.28%.

About J.Jill

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.