J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Receives $17.25 Average PT from Brokerages

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.25.

Several research firms recently issued reports on JILL. Zacks Research lowered shares of J.Jill from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of J.Jill from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of J.Jill from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J.Jill in a report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.Jill

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JILL. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in J.Jill by 83.1% in 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 in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in J.Jill in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in J.Jill by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,211 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 2,595 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in J.Jill in the 4th quarter worth approximately $150,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in J.Jill by 11.7% in the 1st 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. 40.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JILL opened at $11.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.35 and a 200 day moving average of $14.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.89. J.Jill has a 12-month low of $10.40 and a 12-month high of $18.80.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.10. The company had revenue of $138.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.55 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 4.68% and a return on equity of 30.77%. On average, research analysts anticipate that J.Jill will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 14th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 14th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. J.Jill’s payout ratio is currently 19.78%.

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.