NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 260 Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

NFJ Investment Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,219 shares of the company’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Signet Jewelers were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SIG. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter worth $210,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,330,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 1.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 310,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 132,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,704,000 after purchasing an additional 35,174 shares in the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:SIG opened at $55.34 on Friday. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 12 month low of $45.55 and a 12 month high of $112.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $53.99 and its 200 day moving average is $73.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 6.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -168.42%.

Insider Transactions at Signet Jewelers

In other Signet Jewelers news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $180,415.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,752 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Kevin Symancyk bought 15,000 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $57.45 per share, with a total value of $861,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,913,289.50. This represents a 42.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SIG shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Cfra Research raised Signet Jewelers to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $70.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.60.

Signet Jewelers Profile

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.