J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.75.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (up from $16.00) on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of J.Jill in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of J.Jill from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of J.Jill from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of J.Jill stock opened at $24.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $357.26 million, a PE ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 0.87. J.Jill has a 52 week low of $10.40 and a 52 week high of $24.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The specialty retailer reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.67. J.Jill had a return on equity of 28.51% and a net margin of 4.62%.The company had revenue of $154.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.26 million. Equities analysts anticipate that J.Jill will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 23rd. J.Jill’s payout ratio is presently 20.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark W. Webb sold 13,756 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.61, for a total value of $297,267.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 146,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,172,196.73. This represents a 8.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $625,734 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J.Jill

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 1492 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in J.Jill in the 1st quarter valued at $258,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 3,499 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 47,456 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 1,688 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in J.Jill by 3.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,496 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,208,000 after buying an additional 8,172 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its position in J.Jill by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,303,493 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $17,884,000 after buying an additional 99,390 shares during the period. 40.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About J.Jill

J.Jill, Inc (NYSE:JILL) is a women’s apparel retailer focused on providing clothing and accessories for women in a range of sizes. The company’s product assortment generally includes casual apparel such as tops, sweaters, dresses, pants, jackets, and outerwear, along with footwear and accessories.

J.Jill serves customers through an omnichannel retail model that combines its branded stores with e-commerce and direct-to-consumer offerings. Its products are designed around comfortable, versatile styling for everyday wear, with the company primarily targeting women seeking relaxed and contemporary apparel.

The company’s retail and digital operations serve customers across the United States.