J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on JILL. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on J.Jill from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered J.Jill from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of J.Jill from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th.

J.Jill Price Performance

NYSE:JILL opened at $14.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $214.05 million, a P/E ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.72. J.Jill has a one year low of $13.32 and a one year high of $28.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The specialty retailer reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $150.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.38 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 5.60% and a return on equity of 36.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Equities analysts expect that J.Jill will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 24th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 24th. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.Jill

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JILL. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in J.Jill by 83.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the 2nd quarter worth $56,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of J.Jill by 11.7% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,908 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the period. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in J.Jill in the third quarter valued at about $201,000. 40.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.