J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

JILL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of J.Jill from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $18.00 price target on J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on 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 J.Jill from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JILL opened at $14.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.35 million, a PE ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.94. J.Jill has a 52 week low of $13.32 and a 52 week high of $28.94.

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

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 24th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 24th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 83.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in J.Jill during the second quarter worth about $56,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised 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 in the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in J.Jill in the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its holdings in J.Jill by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 11,210 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,205 shares during the period. 40.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.Jill Company Profile

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.