J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on JILL. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on shares of J.Jill from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J.Jill in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of JILL opened at $16.60 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.82. J.Jill has a 12-month low of $13.32 and a 12-month high of $26.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $250.75 million, a PE ratio of 7.58 and a beta of 0.96.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 10th. The specialty retailer reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.18. J.Jill had a return on equity of 36.33% and a net margin of 5.60%.The company had revenue of $150.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.38 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that J.Jill will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.Jill

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in J.Jill by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,204,103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $20,650,000 after acquiring an additional 221,218 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of J.Jill in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,431,000. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,503,000. Fund 1 Investments LLC raised its stake in J.Jill by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 936,248 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,707,000 after purchasing an additional 173,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in J.Jill by 931.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 147,892 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after purchasing an additional 133,558 shares in the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.