J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Given New $40.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) had its price objective lowered by Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on JILL. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a market perform rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on shares of J.Jill from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a hold rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $39.33.

J.Jill Trading Down 7.1 %

Shares of NYSE JILL opened at $24.64 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.83 million, a P/E ratio of 7.36 and a beta of 0.61. J.Jill has a fifty-two week low of $23.06 and a fifty-two week high of $40.61.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $155.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $155.13 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 136.44%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that J.Jill will post 3.5 EPS for the current year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.36%.

Insider Transactions at J.Jill

In other J.Jill news, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 1,348 shares of J.Jill stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total value of $43,553.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,276.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other J.Jill news, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 1,352 shares of J.Jill stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.74, for a total value of $45,616.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,663,354.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 1,348 shares of J.Jill stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total transaction of $43,553.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,276.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,326,190 shares of company stock worth $41,210,657. 6.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.Jill

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in J.Jill in the 4th quarter valued at about $703,000. Privium Fund Management UK Ltd bought a new position in J.Jill in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,097,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $165,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,774 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $317,000. 40.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

J.Jill Company Profile

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.