J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Stock Breaks Below 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.98 and traded as low as $22.40. J.Jill shares last traded at $22.4820, with a volume of 164,095 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on J.Jill from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of J.Jill in a report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on J.Jill from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price (up from $16.00) on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.50.

J.Jill Stock Down 5.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $334.08 million, a P/E ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.24.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The specialty retailer reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $154.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.26 million. J.Jill had a return on equity of 28.51% and a net margin of 4.62%. As a group, research analysts predict that J.Jill, Inc. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 23rd were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 23rd. J.Jill’s payout ratio is 20.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.Jill

In related news, EVP Mark Webb sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.52, for a total value of $122,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 113,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,583.96. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elliot Staples sold 13,287 shares of J.Jill stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.20, for a total value of $321,545.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 60,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,458,534. This trade represents a 18.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 73,287 shares of company stock worth $1,651,880. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.Jill

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JILL. Fund 1 Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 96.8% in the second quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 1,328,949 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $21,090,000 after purchasing an additional 653,645 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 3.0% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of J.Jill during the third quarter worth approximately $591,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,499 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

About J.Jill

J.Jill, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on women’s apparel, footwear and accessories. The company offers relaxed, versatile clothing designed primarily for women age 40 and older, with product categories that include dresses, tops, sweaters, pants, jackets, intimates and accessories.

J.Jill serves customers through a multichannel model that includes its retail stores, e-commerce website and direct-mail catalogs. Its merchandise is marketed under the J.Jill brand and is available primarily in the United States, with the company emphasizing comfort, fit and coordinated wardrobe collections.

The company traces its roots to 1959, when it began as a catalog retailer.