J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.33.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of J.Jill from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on J.Jill from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th.

Insider Activity

In other J.Jill news, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 1,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.10, for a total transaction of $36,530.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 105,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,535.20. This represents a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.Jill

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in J.Jill during the second quarter worth about $26,000. CWM LLC purchased a new stake in J.Jill in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in J.Jill during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in J.Jill during the second quarter worth $81,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 58.4% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 6,272 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of JILL stock opened at $26.30 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.89. J.Jill has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $40.61. The firm has a market cap of $396.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 0.61.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.11. J.Jill had a return on equity of 90.61% and a net margin of 6.70%. The firm had revenue of $155.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $155.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Analysts predict that J.Jill will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.89%.

About J.Jill

J.Jill, Inc operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.