Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday.

SIG has been the topic of several other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group cut their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Signet Jewelers currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.60.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

Shares of SIG opened at $99.98 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 2.12. Signet Jewelers has a one year low of $72.26 and a one year high of $112.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.67.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 8.58%. Signet Jewelers’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is 13.43%.

Insider Transactions at Signet Jewelers

In related news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.63, for a total value of $332,066.79. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,085 shares in the company, valued at $2,598,848.55. This trade represents a 11.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rebecca Wooters sold 22,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $2,192,949.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 68,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,765,957. This represents a 24.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,957 shares of company stock worth $4,599,306. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,330,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 34,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,312 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter worth $210,000. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,056,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 133.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 11,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares in the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Company Profile

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.