Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) Shares Purchased by Granite Investment Partners LLC

Granite Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 126,975 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 777 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Signet Jewelers were worth $10,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SIG. Grace & White Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 207,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,728,000 after purchasing an additional 11,900 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 61,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,969,000 after acquiring an additional 11,218 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,418,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,989,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Signet Jewelers by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 36,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after purchasing an additional 8,574 shares in the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Price Performance

NYSE:SIG opened at $58.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.63. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 12-month low of $45.55 and a 12-month high of $112.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.76.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.39 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. Signet Jewelers’s revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.73 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio is presently -168.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Kevin Symancyk acquired 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $57.45 per share, with a total value of $861,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,913,289.50. This represents a 42.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $180,415.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,752 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SIG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $70.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Cfra Research raised shares of Signet Jewelers to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.60.

Signet Jewelers Profile

Signet Jewelers Limited operates as a diamond jewelry retailer. It operates through three segments: North America, International, and Other. The North America segment operates jewelry stores in jewelry stores in malls, mall-based kiosks, and off-mall locations in the United States and Canada primarily under the Kay Jewelers, Kay Jewelers Outlet, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, Jared Vault, Zales Outlet, Zales Jewelers, Diamonds Direct, James Allen, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, and Peoples Jewellers names, as well as operates online through its digital banners, James Allen and Blue Nile.