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

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.17.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of J.Jill from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of J.Jill from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of J.Jill stock opened at $26.44 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.44. J.Jill has a one year low of $23.06 and a one year high of $40.61.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given 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 is Thursday, December 26th. J.Jill’s payout ratio is currently 9.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 6,740 shares of J.Jill stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $192,359.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,188 shares in the company, valued at $2,773,745.52. The trade was a 6.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.98, for a total transaction of $134,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,812 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,887.76. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,341 shares of company stock valued at $517,038. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J.Jill

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JILL. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of J.Jill by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 13,664 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in J.Jill during the second quarter valued at $26,000. CWM LLC purchased a new stake in J.Jill in the second quarter worth $29,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of J.Jill by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of J.Jill during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

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.