Traders Buy High Volume of Signet Jewelers Call Options (NYSE:SIG)

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 4,798 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 51% compared to the typical volume of 3,174 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their price target on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.60.

Signet Jewelers Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of SIG opened at $56.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.55. Signet Jewelers has a 52 week low of $45.55 and a 52 week high of $112.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.50.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.39 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.73 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.35%.

Insider Activity

In other Signet Jewelers news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Grace & White Inc. NY raised its stake in Signet Jewelers by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 207,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,728,000 after purchasing an additional 11,900 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 30.5% in the fourth 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. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 99.6% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after buying an additional 9,778 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Signet Jewelers by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 202,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,326,000 after buying an additional 9,559 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.