Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Stock Price Up 3.9% – Here’s Why

Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) shot up 3.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $65.01 and last traded at $65.05. 202,816 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 1,168,587 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. CL King assumed coverage on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cfra Research raised Signet Jewelers to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Signet Jewelers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.67.

Signet Jewelers Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $58.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.06. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The business’s revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.73 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. This is an increase from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -168.42%.

Insider Activity

In other Signet Jewelers news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $180,415.29. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,752 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,565.76. This represents a 12.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Helen Mccluskey acquired 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $100,062.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,878,575.76. This represents a 5.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Grace & White Inc. NY raised its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 207,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,728,000 after buying an additional 11,900 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 61,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,969,000 after purchasing an additional 11,218 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 4th quarter worth about $2,418,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,989,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 36,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after buying an additional 8,574 shares in the last quarter.

About Signet Jewelers

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.