Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $120.20.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 21st.

Insider Transactions at Signet Jewelers

In other news, Director H. Todd Stitzer sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.41, for a total transaction of $512,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,804,393.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider William Brace sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $297,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 75,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,490,736. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director H. Todd Stitzer sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.41, for a total transaction of $512,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,804,393.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,254 shares of company stock worth $5,558,494 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,905,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Signet Jewelers by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 394,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,300,000 after buying an additional 118,275 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Signet Jewelers by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 585,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,036,000 after buying an additional 39,316 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Signet Jewelers by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 615,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,225,000 after buying an additional 52,104 shares during the period. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Signet Jewelers in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $255,000.

Signet Jewelers Stock Down 2.6 %

SIG stock opened at $93.96 on Friday. Signet Jewelers has a 52-week low of $57.10 and a 52-week high of $109.17. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.01. The firm has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.27, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 2.13.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $6.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.33 by $0.40. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 11.30% and a return on equity of 32.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Signet Jewelers will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is an increase from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.14%.

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.