J.Jill, Inc. (JILL) – What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.50.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (up from $16.00) on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. BTIG Research raised their target price on J.Jill from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on J.Jill from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings raised J.Jill from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Monday, October 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark Webb sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.28, for a total transaction of $582,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 121,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,341.04. This represents a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elliot Staples sold 13,287 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.20, for a total transaction of $321,545.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 60,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,458,534. The trade was a 18.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 68,287 shares of company stock worth $1,529,280 in the last 90 days. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.Jill

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JILL. 1492 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in J.Jill during the first quarter worth about $258,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in J.Jill by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,499 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in J.Jill by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,496 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,208,000 after acquiring an additional 8,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fund 1 Investments LLC raised its holdings in J.Jill by 96.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 1,328,949 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $21,090,000 after acquiring an additional 653,645 shares during the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.Jill Stock Down 0.9%

JILL stock opened at $24.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $363.53 million, a P/E ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. J.Jill has a 52 week low of $10.40 and a 52 week high of $25.14.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The specialty retailer reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.67. J.Jill had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 28.51%. The firm had revenue of $154.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.26 million. Equities analysts forecast that J.Jill will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 23rd were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 23rd. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.11%.

J.Jill Company Profile

J.Jill, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on women’s apparel, footwear and accessories. The company designs and sells casual, comfortable and versatile clothing intended primarily for women in their 40s and beyond, with product offerings that include tops, sweaters, dresses, pants, jackets and seasonal collections.

J.Jill serves customers through a combination of retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels, including its e-commerce website and catalogs. Its merchandise is marketed under the J.Jill brand and is designed to support a coordinated wardrobe, with an emphasis on fit, ease and everyday wear.

Founded in 1959, the company operates primarily in the United States.