UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Stock Price

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $85.00 to $89.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

SIG has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com cut Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Signet Jewelers presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.60.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

NYSE:SIG opened at $56.31 on Thursday. Signet Jewelers has a twelve month low of $45.55 and a twelve month high of $112.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 6.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.39 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.73 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Signet Jewelers will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total transaction of $180,415.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SIG. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Signet Jewelers by 149.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 832.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 1,216 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period.

About Signet Jewelers

Signet Jewelers Limited operates as a diamond jewelry retailer. It operates through three segments: North America, International, and Other. The North America segment operates jewelry stores in jewelry stores in malls, mall-based kiosks, and off-mall locations in the United States and Canada primarily under the Kay Jewelers, Kay Jewelers Outlet, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, Jared Vault, Zales Outlet, Zales Jewelers, Diamonds Direct, James Allen, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, and Peoples Jewellers names, as well as operates online through its digital banners, James Allen and Blue Nile.